ipilgriniSfriei 



ADVANCED LESSONS 




THEIRPLACEINHI5T0RY 

HAZARD-FOWLER 



NEvvoRK ^^f ♦ Il^iI||rim'lC>rf55 



BOSTON 



CHICAGO 




Class 3S-4^£^ 

Book. .-B3 

Copyright]^" 



COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT. 



BMlgrim Series 
ADVANCED LESSONS 



BOOKS OF THE BIBLE 



WITH RELATION TO 



THEIR PLACE IN HISTORY 



BY 

M. C. HAZARD, Ph.D. 

H. T. FoWLEh, Ph.D. \. . i : . 

Professor of Biblical Literature and History, Brown University 



BOSTON 

Zbc ipilgrim prees 

CHICAGO 



i 






LIBRARY uf CONGRESS 
Two Copies Received 



FEB I 1904 

^ Copyright Entry 



Copyright, 1903 
By M. C. Hazard 



PREFACE 

The present course of lessons is designed to meet the needs 
of advanced classes in the Sunday-school and other Bible stu- 
dents who desire to secure a broad, connected view of the Bible 
as a whole. Each historical book is considered as a part of the 
historical series to which it belongs, and thus an outline view is 
given of the entire Biblical history. Into this outline the ad- 
dresses, essays and epistles of the prophets and apostles are fitted 
in their proper setting, so far as the limits of the course permit. 
Often these writings, which s,eer$. (gbscure and even unintelligible 
when isolated, become full of meaning when read with their 
proper place in the history in mind. 

The lessons are arranged in four groups of twelve with a review 
following each group, so that the course offers one lesson a week 
for an entire year. In cases where classes meet for a part of the 
year only the first half of the course covering the Old Testa- 
ment may be made the subject of study for one year, and the 
second half, including the New Testament, for the next year. 

The discussion of debatable questions is, in general, excluded 
from the lessons, except that, at the close of each, two or more 
topics are suggested for discussion, from which each class may 
select according to individual interest. Some of these topics 
raise important questions of criticism and interpretation, while 
others concern the application of Biblical teaching to personal 
and practical life. In all their definite statements, however, the 
lessons aim to present only that upon which most competent 
Biblical scholars are in substantial agreement. The reference 
literature named contains discussions of all important problems 
as to date, authorship, mode of composition and the critical 
questions that may arise in connection with the course of study. 

The general outline of the course was formulated by Dr. M. 
C. Hazard, editor of the Congregational Sunday-School and 
Publishing Society; the subject matter of the book has been 
prepared by Dr. Henry T. Fowler, professor of Biblical Litera- 
ture and History in Brown University. 



BOOKS OF THE BIBLE 

WITH RELATION TO 

THEIR PLACE IN HISTORY 



Outline of Course on the Old Testament 
INTRODUCTION 

1. The Bible as a whole. 

2. The Old Testamer.t as a whole. 

I. THE BEGINNINGS — Getiesii — Judges. 

1. The beginnings of the human race. 

— Genesis i-ii. 

2. The beginnings of the chosen people. 

— Genesis 12-50. 

3. From bondage to freedom. — Exodus. 

4. Israel on the march. — Numbers. 

5. Entering into possession of the land. — Joshua. 

6. A time of vacillation. — Judges, Ruth. 

II. NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT 

— I Samuel — i Kings 11. 

T. Transition to monarchy. — i Samuel. 

2. The united kingdom under David. — 2 Samuel. 

3. The united kingdom under Solomon. 

— I Kings i-ii. 
III. NATIONAL DECLINE 

A. NORTHERN ISRAEL 

— I Kings 12 — 2 Kings 18: 12. 

I. The northern kingdom and two great 

prophets. — i Kings 12 — 2 Kings 13. 



VI ADVANCED COURSE OF LESSONS 

2. Prosperity and corruption of northern 

Israel — Warning of Amos. — Amos. 

3. Warning of Hosea — Downfall of Israel. 

— Hosea. 
B. JUDAH — I Kings 14: 21 — 2 Kings; 2 Chroni- 
cles 10-36: 21. 

1. Time of stability. — i Kings 14: 21 — 
2 Kings 15: 7; 2 Chronicles 10-27. 

2. The Assyrian peril. — Isaiah 1-39. 

3. Internal peril. — Micah. 

4. Internal reform. — Zephaniah, Deuter- 
onom3\ 

5. The Babylonian peril. — Nahmn, Habak- 
kuk. 

6. The fall of Judah. — Jeremiah. 

IV. THE CAPTIVITY 

1. Opening years of exile. — Lamentations, Oba- 
diah, Ezekiel. 

2. Later years of exile. — Isaiah 40-66. 

V. THE RESTORATION — Ezra, Nehemiah. 

1. The temple rebuilt. — Haggai, Zechariah 1-8. 

2. Reform of Ezra and Nehemiah. — Nehemiah, 
Malachi. 

VI. LEGALISM 

I. The priestly law. — Leviticvis, Joel, Jonah. 

SUPPLEMENTARY STUDY 

Poetry. — Psalms, Song of Songs, Job. 
Philosophy. — ^ Job, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes. 
Apocalypse. — Daniel. 



ADVANCED COURSE OF LESSONS Vll 

Outline of Course on the New Testament 
INTRODUCTION 

The New Testament as a whole. 

I. THE LIFE OF CHRIST — Gospels. 

1. The synoptic narrative. — Matthew, Mark, Luke. 

2. The Johannine narrative. — John. 

II. THE EARLY CHURCH 

A. JUDAIC PERIOD — Acts 1-12. 

1. Inception and scattering of the church. 

— Acts 1-12. 

2. Epistle of Judaic period. — James. 

B. GENTILE PERIOD — Acts 13-28. 

1. Paul's first and second missionary jour- 
neys. — Acts 13-18:22. 

2. Epistles of the second journey. 

— 1,2 Thessalonians, Galatians. 

3. Paul's third missionary journey. 

— Acts 18: 23 — 21:16. 

4. Epistles of the third journey. — 1,2 Corin- 
* thians, Romans. 

5. Paul in Jerusalem and Caesarea. — Acts 
21 : 17 — 26. 

6. Journey to Rome. — Acts 27, 28. 

7. Epistles of imprisonment. — Philemon, 
Colossians, Ephesians, Philippians. 

8. Pastoral epistles. — i Timothy, Titus, 
2 Timothy. 

C. CLOSING PERIOD 

1. First epistle of Peter. 

2. Jude and 2 Peter. 

3. Epistle to the Hebrews. 

4. The Johannine writings. — Revelation, 
I, 2, 3 John. 



BOOKS OF THE BIBLE 



Lesson I 
The Bible as a Whole 

Reference Literature. — In connection with the lessons constant 
reference will be made to standard Biblical introductions and dictionary 
articles and occasional reference to desirable commentaries. The 
works on Biblical introduction furnish adequate discussions of all 
questions of date, authorship, aim and the like, together with analyses 
of contents for each book. For a general introduction to the entire 
Bible that of Bennett and Adeney (Thomas Whittaker, New York) 
will be found the most available. Professor Bennett's Primer of the 
Bible (Henry Holt, New York) is also useful. For the Old Testament, 
Robertson's Old Testament and its Contents (F. H. Revell, New York), 
gi ves in simple and compact form much valuable information, and its 
small price places it within the reach of all. Its elementary character, 
however, excludes practically all'discussion of critical questions. These 
are treated judicially in Driver's Introduction to the Old Testament 
(Scribner's, New York) and are also presented attractively in Kautzsch's 
Literature of the Old Testament (G. P. Putnam's Sons, New York). 

For the New Testament the introductions of Bacon and Marcus Dods 
will be found compact and convenient. The former gives the results 
of the best recent critical investigations so far as the compass of a hand- 
book permits (Macmillan, New York), Salmon's Introduction to the 
New Testament (John Murray, London) contains mtich fuller discus- 
sions than Dods or Bacon. In general, conservative positions are here 
defended. The two- volume Introduction to the New Testament of 
Bemhard Weiss (English translation. Funk & Wagnalls, New York), 
is a still larger work. The series of volumes on Messages of the Bible, 
edited by Sanders and Kent (Scribner's, New York), gives in popular 
form topics of introduction and vivid paraphrases of the contents of 
Biblical books. 

Reference will be made repeatedly to Hastings' Bible Dictionary, 
where the assured results- of modem Biblical study are usually well 
presented. This work niust largely replace the once excellent Smith's 
Bible Dictionary. The Biblical articles in the Encyclopaedia Britannica 



2 ADVANCED COURSE OF LESSONS 

(ninth edition) are still very helpful, though they cannot, of course, 
be abreast of the most recent investigations. Reference is not made 
to the Encyclopaedia Biblica, a work which belongs in the hands of the 
technical scholar rather than the general Bible student. 

For the introductory lesson the article on the Bible in Hastings or 
the Britannica will be found of great importance. 

I. The Bible as a Whole 

The name Bible comes to us through the Latin 

from the Greek. The Greek term ia biblta, meaning 

the Httle books, was in the early days of the 

Church applied sometimes to the books of 

the Old Testament alone and sometimes to all the 

books of the Bible. 

The Greek word rendered testament in the titles 
of the two great divisions of the Bible is more com- 
monly translated covenant, and possibly the terms 
old and new covenant would express more meaning 
to-day than old and new testament, if usage had not 
fixed the name testament. 

The unity of the Old and New Testaments is 
sufficiently clear when one recalls the frequency with 
which the writers of the latter refer to 
^ ^ the former as Scripture, or when one 

appreciates the unity of the progressive 
revelation embodied in the two; yet the demarcation 
between them is hardly less impressive than the 
unity of the whole. The unique life and authori- 
tative teaching of Christ Jesus separate the writings 
of the old covenant from those of the new. The 
books of the Old Testament were a slow growth 
during many centuries, embodying the best fruits 
of a gradual revelation through prophets, priests, 



ADVANCED COURSE OF LESSONS 3 

philosophers and poets. The New Testament was 

the almost immediate outgrowth of the life and 

teaching of Christ, all written within one century. 

The books composing both Testaments exhibit an 

attractive variety of literary form, which suggests 

the term Biblical literature as appropri- 

,y . , ate for the entire twofold collection. The 
Variety ..... r ^^ 

two great divisions of literature, prose 

and poetry, are here in great wealth. The poetry, 

it is true, is chiefly lyric, but not without epic and 

dramatic characteristics, while all the great forms 

of prose are represented — historical, philosophical, 

rhetorical, with various subordinate forms. A study 

of the books of the Bible with reference to their 

place in history will show these varied writings 

growing up in connection with the history of ancient 

Israel and of the early Church. 

II. The Old Testament as a Whole 

The books of the Old Testament as 
arranged in the English Bible are often 
classified as, — • 

Pentateuch 5 

History 12 

Poetry 5 

Major Prophets 5 

Minor Prophets 12 

Total 39 

This division may be of service in aiding the mem- 
ory, but is hardly accurate as a logical classification; 
for example, Numbers in the Pentateuch is just as 



4 ADVANCED COURSE OF LESSONS 

truly historical as Joshua, the first of the historical 
group; Ecclesiastes is not a book of poetry, though 
included in that group, while Lamentations is a col- 
lection of poems, though classed with the prophets. 
The order of books in the English versions is a grad- 
ual growth and based upon no one principle of 
arrangement. In the Hebrew Bible the order is 
different, offering a triple division into law, prophets 
and writings. This arrangement probably repre- 
sents the history of the Old Testament canon — the 
law (Pentateuch) having been the first canon, to 
which the prophets (including the historical books, 
Joshua to Kings) were later added, while the remain- 
ing books (Psalms, Proverbs, Job, Song of Songs, 
Ruth, Lamentations, Ecclesiastes, Esther, Daniel, 
Ezra, Nehemiah, Chronicles) came to be classed 
with the sacred books at a still later period. 

Neither the English nor the Hebrew Bible arranges 
the books in an order which can be followed exactly 
in carr3dng out the purpose of the present course. 
As suggested in the Introduction, we shall consider 
first the historical series, Genesis to 2 Kings, covering 
the historical narratives of the Hebrews from their 
earliest beginnings till the Babylonian captivity. 
The second series, Chronicles to Nehemiah, which 
is in part parallel to the other, will be considered 
in connection with it and also for the record of the 
subsequent years, including a century and more 
after the return from exile. The writings of the 
prophets are to be taken up in their chronological 
order as they arise in connection with the national 
history, and the legal books, Deuteronomy and 



ADVANCED COURSE OF LESSONS 5 

Leviticus, will be considered in relation to the 
reforms of Josiah and Ezra respectively, when their 
influence became dominant. Time will permit only 
a glance at the remaining books of the Old Testa- 
ment, but this will be the less unfortunate, because 
with present knowledge they can in most cases be 
located in the history with much uncertainty and 
many provisos, and, in general, they have no such 
immediate connection with the history as the proph- 
ets and law books. 

III. Points for Review in Class 

Aim of the course ; method of treating the historical books ; the 
four historical series ; method of treating the remaining books. 
(See Introduction.) 

Origin of the name Bible; common translation of the word 
rendered testament; unity of Old and New Testaments; differ- 
ences between them; appropriateness of modern term, Biblical 
literature. 

The common division of the Old Testament books as arranged 
in the English Bible, and its defects; the arrangement of the 
Hebrew Bible, and the reason for it; order to be followed for the 
purpose of the present course. 



b ADVANCED COURSE OF LESSONS 

FIRST PERIOD — THE BEGINNINGS 

Lesson II 

The Beginnings of the Human Race and of 
the Chosen People — Genesis 

Reference Literature. — Jas. Robertson, Old Testament and its 
Contents, § 26 and Chap. IX; Bennett and Adeney, Biblical Introduc- 
tion; S. R. Driver, Introduction to Literature of the Old Testament; 
Hastings' Bible Dictionary, Genesis; Encyclopaedia Britannica, Penta- 
teuch; Marcus Dods, Genesis (Handbooks for Bible Classes) or, Genesis 
(Expositor's Bible); H. E. Ryle, Early Narratives of Genesis; J. D. 
Davis, Genesis and Semitic Tradition; H. G. Mitchell, World before 
Abraham ; McFadyen, Messages of the Historians. 

I. The Book of Genesis 

The first eleven chapters of Genesis contain tra- 
ditions of the world's history down to the separation 
of the chosen people. The view narrows 
from the human race as a whole to the 
Semites and then to the Hebraic branch of this race. 

The remainder of the book includes the patri- 
archal narratives centering about Abraham and 
Isaac, Jacob and Esau, and Joseph. This second 
part opens with the separation of the Hebrew an- 
cestors from their kindred in Mesopotamia, indicates 
their kinship with Edom, Moab, Ammon, and cer- 
tain desert tribes, and includes the first sojourn in 
Palestine and the migration to Egypt, where Jacob 
and Joseph die and their descendants remain. 

Genesis as a whole is thus made up of the most 

primitive traditions of the Hebrews as to the origin 

Character ^^ ^^^ world, its life and its civilization, 

together with the narratives which mirror 

the early wanderings of their ancestral and kindred 



ADVANCED COURSE OF LESSONS 7 

tribes. All this is put together in a somewhat rigid . 
genealogical framework, and with the evident pur- 
pose to show a narrowing of the covenant relation- 
ship to the Israelites proper. 

The book forms a masterful introduction to that 

great connected series of historical compositions that 

. extends through 2 Kings and carries the 

^xi. -r. 1 history through the course of Israel's 
Other Books .,-^, ^. , ,., ^ 

independent national life. Genesis may 

well be viewed as a part of this larger whole. As 
such it emphasizes the racial connection and the re- 
ligious separation of Israel from the other peoples of 
the ancient world. It is a no less appropriate intro- 
duction to the Biblical revelation of God as a being 
of limitless power who provides for his creatures in 
mercy and of the dangers, possibilities and hope for 
humanity. 

As vivid, picturesque narrative, instinct with 

huraan feeling, many parts of Genesis form some of 

the most attractive portions of Bib- 

^, ^ .\. lical literature. Its characters live, 
Characteristics ' 

revealing humanity to man. The 

stories of the garden and flood and Babel, of Abra- 
ham, Jacob and Joseph delight the child and in no 
less degree win the admiration of the cultured student 
of letters. The Joseph narrative especially, in its 
rapidity of action and charm of sudden contrast, in 
the interplay of different characters, each vital and 
yet all subordinate to the chief figure, would be hard 
to excel in ancient literature. The wealth of local 
color in the background — the uplands of Canaan's 
pastures, the caravan of wandering merchants of 



8 ADVANCED COURSE OF LESSONS 

the desert, the pomp of Egyptian civiHzation — give 

a fascinating setting for the central movement; 

while the sublime faith that breathes throughout 

and comes to full utterance at the close lifts the whole 

to highest plane: '' As for you, ye meant evil against 

me; but God meant it for good, to bring to pass, as 

it is this day, to save much people alive." 

Genesis, like the great majority of books in the 

Old Testament, is anonymous. The Jewish tradi- 

. , , . tion that it was written by Moses ap- 

Authorship , , -l , . 

pears at too late a date to be regarded 

as historical evidence. The consensus of the best 

scholarship to-day holds that the book was compiled 

from earlier histories at a time much later than 

Moses. In Chronicles and Kings repeated references 

are made to the sources from which the editor is 

compiling, and a comparison of parallel passages in 

the two works will illustrate the methods used by 

the Jewish historiographer. A similar method was 

in all probability followed in the composition of 

Genesis/ 

II. Analysis of Lesson 

1. The Beginnings of the Human Race. — Genesis 1-11. 

2. The Beginnings of the Chosen People. — Genesis 12-50. 

(a) Abraham and Isaac. (12-26.) 
(6) Jacob and Esau. (27-36.) 
(c) Joseph. (37-50.) 

^ Full discussion as to the date and authorship of books will be found 
in the Biblical introductions and special articles named at the opening 
of each lesson. Such discussion is beyond the bounds of the present 
volume. 



ADVANCED COURSE OF LESSONS 9 

III. Selected Home Readings 

The development of sin. (3-4: 6'i-8.) 

Abraham and his guests. (18.) 

Mission of Abraham's servant. (24.) 

The tribes of IsraeL (29: 31— 30: 24 35: 16-19.) 

Joseph's disclosure. (43: 15-45-) 

Judah's plea. (44; 18-34.) 

IV. Special Points to be Noted 

Majesty and mercy of God revealed in creation narrative; the 
place of man in creation; the growth and consequences of sin; 
the successive genealogies (from Adam to Noah's sons, 5: i — 6: 
9: the table of the nations, 10; from Shem to Terah and Abra- 
ham, 11; 10-27; the descendants of Ishmael, 25: 12-18; of Esau, 
36. (Note that the side lines are carried a short distance and 
then dropped, while the thread of the chosen line is kept) ; Is- 
rael's tribal relationships indicated in the Abraham and Isaac 
narratives (Abraham and Lot — Moab and Ammon, Ishmael, 
Rebekah — new blood from Mesopotamia, the descendants of 
Keturah — desert tribes, 25: 1-6) ; in the Jacob and Esau narratives 
(Leah and Rachel, their sons and the sons of the concubines, — 
a further infusion of kindred blood from Mesopotamia). 

The series of covenants from Noah to Jacob culminating in 
the covenant of circumcision with Abraham; going down into 
Egypt. 

V. Points for Review in Class 

Subject of lesson: portion of Bible included; portion of history 
included: natural divisions of the book; material of which Gene- 
sis is made up; the framework and plan of the book; its relation 
to the following books both as historical introduction and as 
revelation; the most beautiful stories, and some reasons for their 
charm. 

God as seen in creation: man's place in creation; moral truths 
in the early chapters of Genesis; peoples related to Israel (the 
Hebraic group of nations). 



lO ADVANCED COURSE OF LESSONS 

VI. Topics for Discussion 

To be assigned to individuals for report or made the subject of in- 
formal discussion m class. 

1. The character of Abraham, Jacob. Esau, Joseph, - ideal 
elements and weaknesses. 

2. Conception of God in various parts of Genesis; majestic 
elements, primitive and childlike elements. 



ADVANCED COURSE OF LESSONS II 

Lesson III 
From Bondage to Freedom — Exodus 

Reference Literature. — Jas. Robertson, Old Testament and its Con- 
tents, § 27, and Chap. IX; Bennett and Adeney, Biblical Introduction; S. 
R. Driver, Introduction to Literature of the Old Testament; Hastings' 
Bible Dictionary, Exodus; Encyclopaedia Britannica, Pentateuch; Mc- 
Fadyen, Messages uf the Historians, 

I. The Book of Exodus 

Exodus opens with the rapid increase of Jacob's 

descendants in Egypt and the attempts made to 

repress them.. It carries the story through 

the dehverance from Egypt, the journey 

to Sinai and the principal events at Sinai, ending 

with the completion of the tabernacle. 

The book differs from Genesis in several important 

respects. Instead of pure narrative we have now 

-, • ^ a comibination of narrative and law, and 
Character 

added to this a large amount of material 

dealing with priestly organization, its appurte- 
nances and ritual. It introduces us also to a new 
stage in the beginnings of the chosen people, for 

-n ^ J.' X xt_ it constitutes the first chapter of 
Relation to other 1 1 5> 

Books their national history, while Genesis 

does not carry us beyond the wan- 
derings of patriarchal tribes. The oppressed tribes, 
by their marvelous deliverance, and by the reve- 
lation of Jehovah which they receive through Moses, 
feel a new bond uniting them to their common God 
and so to each other. Loyalty to this God is the 
great force that ultimately welds them into a nation. 
In the later history, and in the appeals of the proph- 



12 ADVANCED COURSE OF LESSONS 

ets, the rallying cry is again and again loyalty 

to the God of Sinai, who delivered them from Egypt; 

for example, Amos 2: 10; 3: i; Hosea 11: i. 

In passing from the patriarchal narratives to the 

history of a multitude of people, we necessarily lose 

something of the charm of interest 

^, ^ .\. in the varying fortunes of an indi- 
Characteristics . , , , -^ ^ 

vidual character. Man m the mass 

is not so universally interesting to man as the in- 
dividual heart and life. The stories of Abraham, 
Jacob and Joseph have the charm of the epic, or its 
modern descendant, the novel, where the pictures 
center in one hero. The large amount of priestly 
material, also, in Exodus, such as the elaborate 
description of the tabernacle and priestly vestments, 
fails to kindle sympathetic imagination to-day, and 
is sometimes difficult of comprehension. Yet, when 
all this has been admitted, we remember that Exodus, 
too, contains its great individual hero, greater in 
achievement than any predecessor, and that his life 
and character are presented with such vividness and 
picturesqueness that Moses lives again with every 
new reading of the book. His life, too, like that of 
Joseph, is marked by sudden transitions in all out- 
ward circumstances and occupation, and variety of 
local color lends its changing interest and constant 
attractiveness to the whole. From birth among 
an oppressed people to royal adoption in the greatest 
court of the age; through rash vengeance to the 
lonely desert where shepherd life gives opportunity 
for calm reflection ; back again to the nerve-center of 
civilization and struggle; across the wind-swept sea- 



ADVANCED COURSK OF LKSSONS 1 3 

bottom to the lonely communication in the thunder- 
clouds on Sinai ; — there is tinder here to kindle the 
imagination; there is matter of great literature. 
Exodus, like Genesis, is anonymous. The book, 

. , , . as a whole, is believed to be a compil- 
Authorship . . , , . \ 

ation from the same early histories 

used in the composition of Genesis. 



II. Analysis of Lesson 

Egypt to Sinai. — Exodus 1 — 19: 2. 

(a) In Egypt. (1— 12- 36 ) 

(6) Journey to Sinai. (12:37 — 19:2.) 
At Sinai. — Exodus 19 3-40. 



III. Selected Home Readings 

The early life of Moses (2: 1-22.) 

Divine appearances (theophanies). (3 i — 4: 17; 19: 16-25; 
34: 1-14.) 

The song of Moses and Miriam. (15: 1-2 1.) 

Note. — All poetry can be better appreciated if read in the 
Revised Version (American or British), where the form of print- 
ing shows the thought-rhythm (parallelism). 

Jethro, the practical counsellor. — Exodus 18. 

IV. Special Points to be Noted 

In EevDt Preparation of Israel for deliverance through long 

and V)itter suffering; preparation of the deliverer in 
Egypt and the wilderness: opportunity in the death of Pharaoh, 
first revelation to Moses and covenant name; winning of Israel's 
confidence and the long struggle with Pharaoh. 

The great deliverance at the sea and its commem- 
Journey o oration in song; trials in the wilderness and their 
results; the manna (miraculous or natural?). 



14 ADVANCED COURSE OF LESSONS 

. , g. . Scene of the former revelation to Moses (also called 
Horeb) ; the divine appearances in the mountain: the 
codes of law (Ten Commandments; 20. 1-17, " the book of the 
covenant," 20: 23 — 23, " the little book of the covenant," 34: 11- 
26): apostasy and punishment; the tabernacle, ark and other 
objects connected with worship. 

V. Points for Review in Class 

Subject of lesson; portion of Bible included' portion of Israel's 
history 'included; natural divisions of the book: characteristic 
differences between Exodus and Genesis ; new stage in the history 
marked by the opening of Exodus: bond of unity among the 
tribes. 

Preparation of Moses for work; events leading up to deliver- 
ance; the passover as a memorial feast; events of the journey to 
Sinai; law codes in Exodus; Israel a covenant people. 

VI. Topics for Discussion 

To be assigned to individuals for report or made the subject of in- 
formal discussion in class. 

1. The character of Moses, of the priest of Midian, of Aaron — 
ideal elements, weaknesses- 

2. The moral teachings of the Ten Commandments compared 
with those of Jesus. Does Jesus' teaching an3rwhere add any 
moral teachings not included in this code* if so, what? 

3. What relation has the passover to any Christian institution? 



ADVANCED COURSE OF LESSONS 1 5 

Lesson IV 
Israel on the March — Numbers 

Reference Literature. — Robertson, Old Testament and its Contents, 
§ 29 and Chap, IX; Bennett and Adeney, Biblical Introduction; Driver, 
Literature of the Old Testament; Hastings' Bible Dictionary, Numbers; 
Encyclopaedia Britannica, Pentateuch; McFadyen, Messages of the 
Historians. 

I. The Book of Numbers 

The book of Numbers opens with Israel still at 
Sinai, and includes by far the larger part of the wil- 
derness life, bringing the narrative forward 
to the plains east of Jordan, where a por- 
tion of Israel settles permanently. 

In the general character of its contents. Numbers 

closely resembles Exodus, containing, as it does, 

^ narrative with much matter relative to 

the priestly organization of the people and 

some law. 

Though separated in the canon by the priestly 
law book 'Leviticus, Exodus and Numbers are con- 

^ , . tinuous in their contents. Exodus 

Relation to , -^i .1 r a ^ 

Oth B k closes with the rearmg of the taber- 
nacle on the Sinaitic plain, while 
Numbers opens with the census of the tribes a 
month later, and contains the priestly ideal for the 
worship in the tabernacle and the arrangement of 
the camp about it. At the close of the book the 
narrative is dropped where it is ready to be resumed 
in Joshua and Judges, with the story of the conquest 
of Canaan. 



1 6 ADVANCED COURSE OF LESSONS 

The prose narrative of Numbers is more colorless 

than Exodus, lacking such stupendous scenes as the 

crossing of the sea or the appear- 

-Characterfstics ^^^^^ ^^ ^^^^^ ^^^ exhibiting still 
less of the character of a story 
centering in the varying fortunes of an individual. 
From the purely literary standpoint the chief in- 
terest of this book lies in the bits of early poetry 
that it contains. The first of these (21: 14, 15) is 
especially important because of the source to which 
it is referred — '' the book of the Wars of Jehovah." 
It seems clear that in Israel, as generally in the 
development of literature, poetry preceded the 
writing of historical prose, and ancient poetic ac- 
counts of the wars of Jehovah's people were already 
collected in one roll before Numbers was composed. 
The quatrain in verses 17, 18 of the same chapter, 
'' the song of the well," is a charming bit of early folk- 
song, giving an idyllic glimpse of shepherd life. 
Verses 27-30 contain an example of the taunt-song, 
which seems to have been popular with ancient 
Israel and her neighbors. In the episode of Balaam 
the successive oracles of the prophet furnish still 
another form of early poetic composition, touched 
with the strength of wild nature in its figures, fresh 
and vigorous in imagination and expression. 

Numbers shows the same marks of composition 
from earlier documents as Genesis and Exodus, and 

. ,, , . like them is anonymous. The entire 
Authorship ^ , . . , ,. .,. 

Pentateuch, indeed, together with 

Joshua, seems to be one composite whole, both as 

regards the documents used and the final plan and 

purpose of writing. 



ADVANCED COURSE OF LESSONS l^ 

II. Analysis of Lesson 

1. At Sinai. — Numbers 1 — 10: lo. 

2. From Sinai to Kadesh. — Numbers 10: ii — 20: 13. 

3. From Kadesh to the Jordan. — Numbers 20: 14 — 36: 13. 

III. Selected Home Readings 

The march. (10: 11— 12: 16.) 

The spies. (13, 14.) 

Fragments of early poetry. (21: 14, 15, 17, 18, 27-30.) 

The Balaam episode. (22: i — 24: 25.) 

IV. Special Points to be Noted 

The census; the group of laws in chapters 5 and 6; Hobab 
secured as guide; the murmuring on the journey and quails 
given; appointment of seventy elders; unsuccessful attempts to 
enter Palestine from the south; rebellion against Moses (chs. 
16, 17). 

Death of Miriam; murmurings for water and sin of Moses and 
Aaron (20: 1-13); the brazen serpent; conquest of east Jordan 
territory of Sihon and Og", the Balaam episode; idolatry and 
vice at Shittim; another census (ch. 26); Joshua named as Moses' 
successor; a calendar of public sacrifices (chs. 28, 29) ; war against 
Midian; allotment of east- Jordan land. 

V. Points for Review in Class 

Subject of lesson: portion of Bible included; portion of history 
included; natural divisions of the book; resemblances between 
Exodus and Numbers; connection of Numbers and Exodus. 

Attitude of the people toward Moses; the first point of attack 
upon Palestine; the securing of a foothold at last east of the 
Jordan; Moses' successor; principal public sacrifices. 

VI. Topics for Discussion 

To be assigned to individuals for report or made the subject of in- 
formal discussion in class. 

I. The causes of Israel's failure to enter Palestine from the 
bouth. 



1 8 ADVANCED COURSE OF LESSONS 

2. The location of Kadesh (Hastings' Bible Dictionary oi 
Henry Clay Trumbull, Kadesh bamea). 

3. The character of Moses as pictured in Numbers, of Caleb 
and Joshua. 

4. The literary value of the poetic portions of Numbers. 

5. Are such narra*tives as the destruction of Korah and his 
companions to be regarded as literal history? 



ADVANCED COURSE OF LESSONS 1 9 



Lesson V 

Entering into Possession of the Promised Land — 
Joshua 

Reference Literature. — Robertson, Old Testament and its Contents; 
Bennett and Adeney, Biblical Introduction; Driver, Literature of 
Old Testament; Hastings' Bible Dictionary. Joshua; Encyclopaedia 
Britannica, Joshua; McFadyen, Messages of the Historians. 

I. The Book of Joshua 

The first twelve chapters of Joshua give an ac- 
count of the conquest of Palestine, including the 
winning of both the northern and southern 
portions. In chapters 13-22 the allotment 
of the land is described at length with the assign- 
ment of the ideal boundaries of all the tribes, in- 
cluding those remaining on the east of the Jordan. 
The last two chapters of the book contain two fare- 
well addresses of a hortatory nature. 

In general characteristics Joshua closely resembles 
parts of the Pentateuch, the narrative of which it 
continues. The conquest and allotment 
of the land seem to be pictured some- 
what ideally, for the books of Judges and Samuel 
indicate that a subjection so complete as is here 
represented was not fully accomplished till the age 
of David. 

Joshua resumes the narrative near the point where 
Numbers dropped it, although the death of Moses, 

recorded in the law book Deuteron- 

Relation to . ^ i_ r ^1 • r 

nth "R Xc ^^^y- ii^tervenes betore the openmg of 

Joshua. The book is thus the direct 



20 ADVANCED COURSE OF LESSONS 

continuation of the historical portions of the Pen- 
tateuch. On the other hand, it may be counted as 
the introduction to the series of historical books 
ending with Kings and including the history of 
Israel as an independent nation in the promised 
land. 

Joshua contains vivid scenes effectively described, 
such as the spying out and capture of Jericho, the 

offence of Achan with the repulse at 
Literary . . . . r i /^ -i 

Characteristics Ai,.and the stratagem of the Gibe- 
onites. In contrast to these narra- 
tives, the long, detailed accounts of the partition- 
ing of the land with minute descriptions of boun- 
dary lines and lists of towns hardly furnish matter 
of attractive literature, nor is the personality of 
Joshua presented in such a manner as to make him 
a very real and living character to subsequent ages. 
There is in Joshua one fragment of an ancient poem 
that is of great interest because it is taken from a 
lost book of early Hebrew poetry, '' the book of 
Jashar." This collection cannot have been com- 
piled earlier than David's time, since it contained 
also his lament for Saul and Jonathan. 

The Pentateuch and Joshua seem to form one 
complete work, commonly designated by modern 
writers as the Hexateuch, — sixfold 
book. No credence is to be placed 
in the late tradition that Joshua is the author of 
the book, which is named from its chief character 
rather than its writer. Like Genesis, Exodus and 
Numbers, the book makes no claim as to its author- 
ship. 



ADVANCED COURSE OF LESSONS 21 

II. Analysis of Lesson 

1. The Conquest of the Land. — Joshua 1-12. 

2. The Allotment of the Land. — Joshua 13-22. 

3. Joshua's Farewell. — Joshua 23, 24. 

III. Selected Home Readings 

The mission of the spies. (2.) 
The passage of the Jordan. (3, 4.) 
The sin of Achan. (7.) 
The stratagem of the Gibeonites. (9). 
Conquest of southern Canaan. (10.) 
Conquest of northern Canaan. (11.) 
Tent of meeting at Shiloh. (18: i-io.) 
Farewell addresses. (23, 24.) 

IV. Special Points to be Noted 

The co-operation of the two and one-half tribes : Shittim the 
last camping place east of Jordan; Gilgal the first west- Jordan 
headquarters ; the strength and weakness of Jericho (George 
Adam Smith, Historical Geography of the Holy Land, pp. 266- 
269); the circumcision and passover at Gilgal; Jericho "devoted" ; 
the offence of Achan and conquest of Ai; altar erected on Ebal; 
the Gibeonites spared, defeat of five kings of the south; the 
conquest of the north. 

The districts unconquered (13: 2-6); territory assigned to 
the two and one-half tribes; the portion of Caleb at Hebron; 
the location of Judah at the south ; the territory of the Joseph 
tribes, Ephraim and Manasseh, to the north of Judah; the 
tent of meeting at Shiloh; Benjamin between Ephraim and 
Judah; Simeon south of Judah; Zebulun, Issachar, Asher, Naph- 
tali in Galilee; Dan located west of Ephraim, conquers territory 
in the far north of Palestine (for graphic representation of 
division see any map of Canaan as divided among the tribes) ; 
cities of refuge appointed; Levite cities assigned: erection of 
altar by east- Jordan tribes on their return across the river; the 
closing addresses. 



22 ADVANCED COURSE OF LESSONS 

V. Points for Review in Class 

Subject of lesson: portion of Bible included; portion of history 
included; natural divisions of the book; meaning of term Hexa- 
teuch; relation of Joshua to the preceding and following books; 
names given to two lost books of early poems (see, also, Lesson 
IV), 

The point of attack on Palestine ; the two parts of west-Jordan 
land early distinguished; the general location of the groujis of 
tribes; the location of the tent of meeting; the exhortations of 
the closing addresses. 

VI. Topics for Discussion 

To be assigned to individuals for report or made the subject of in- 
formal discussion in class. 

1. The chief physical features of Palestine, coast plain, foot- 
hills, central ridge, valley of Jordan, eastern tableland, trans- 
verse valley of Esdraelon, and their effect on the history of the 
inhabitants (Kent, History of the Hebrews, United Kingdom, 
§^ 12-19; Smith, Historical Geography of Holy Land, pp. 46- 
59, maps of Palestine). 

2. The failure to obtain full possession of the land at once as 
seen in the accounts of the Judges, of David's capture of Jebus, 
etc. 

3. Cruelty of Israel's early warfare: must we count it the 
carrying out of Jehovah's expressed will or is it man's imperfect 
interpretation of the divine purpose before the great prophets 
had taught Israel of a God who desired mercy? 



ADVANCED COURSE OF LESSONS 23 

Lesson VI 
A Time of Vacillation — Judges and Ruth 

Reference Literature. — Robertson, Old Testament and its Contents; 
Bennett and Adeney, Biblical Introduction; Driver, Literature of Old 
Testament; Hastings' Bible Dictionary; Encyclopaedia Britannica; 
McFadyen, Messages of the Historians; International Crit. Com., 
Judges. 

I. a. The Book of Judges 

The opening section of Judges goes back to the 
time before the conquest of Palestine, and gives a 
fragmentary account of the conquest. The 
remainder of the book contains narratives 
of the troubled times during the first century of 
struggle for complete possession of the land, when 
no central government united the people, when they 
fought against the Canaanites as best they could, 
under local leaders, or in a temporary federation 
of several tribes. 

This book is quite different in many of its char- 
acteristics from those which have preceded. The 
central portion is made up of early hero 
stories put together in a rigid framework 
by a compiler, to teach one great lesson, that the 
prosperity of Israel depended upon devotion to 
Jehovah. The opening section is simply an his- 
torical introduction to this, and the five closing 
chapters of the book consist of two appended nar- 
ratives that illustrate the lawless condition of the 
age. 



2 4 ADVANCED COURSE OF LESSONS 

Judges, as has been noted, does not stand in the 
closest relation with Joshua, but in part overlaps 

Relation to ^^^ narrative of the latter. In the 
Other Books ^^i^> however, it follows in chrono- 
logical order and brid,2:es the gap in 
the history between the entrance into the land and 
the establishment of a stable government recorded 
in Samuel. 

In Judges we return to vivid narratives of indi- 
vidual heroes that possess all the charm of the story- 
telling art. Even the rigid frame- 

^. . . \^. work into which the stories are 

Characteristics , . , . . , 

compressed m the interest of the 

didactic purpose of the editor cannot destroy the 
natural vigor of these rough-and-ready tales of lead- 
ers in a rude age. Barak and Deborah, Gideon and 
Samson, are living, breathing men and women, who 
by their deeds of daring, exalted patriotism or weak 
folly kindle enthusiasm and win sympathy to-day. 
The song of Deborah is in some respects the most 
splendid early relic of Israel's poetic genius that 
has been preserved. As we read it we feel that the 
world's literature lost much in the book of the Wars 
of Jehovah, the book of Jashar and other possible, 
similar collections. This early song which has been 
preserved, though with some evident confusion of 
text in its central part, breathes that passionate love 
for Israel and for Israel's God that makes the lyric 
poetry of this people confessedly supreme in the 
literature of all ages and nations. The sudden 
transitions of the ancient ode from praise to scorn, 
and its contrasts between the fateful battle in the 



ADVANCED COURSE OF LESSONS 25 

fierce storm from heaven, the lonely death of the 
dreaded foe in Jael's tent, and the mother waiting 
at the latticed window with straining eyes, give a 
deeply dramatic character to the poem. 

b. The Book of Ruth 

The book of Ruth is placed after Judges in our 
canon, because its events belong to the same age. 
A more complete contrast between the idyllic pic- 
tures in Ruth and the rude scenes of Judges would 
be hard to conceive. Ruth had historic interest 
for Israel, for it traced back the ancestry of her 
greatest king to a Moabitess. Its chief interest to 
us lies in the beautiful characters that it so vividly 
presents in sudden vicissitudes of life. 

II. Analysis of Lesson 

1. The Conquest of the Land. — Judges 1 — 2: 6. 

2. The Series of Defeats and Victories. — Judges 2: 7 — 16. 

3. The Migration of Dan and the Outrage of the Benjamites. 
—Judges 17-21. 

4. The Moabitess Ancestor of David. — Ruth 1-4. 

III. Selected Home Readings 

Summary view of the period of the Judges. (2: 6 — 3: 6.) 

Song of Deborah. (5.) 

An example of a story of a judge (Ehud). (3: 12-30.) 

Worship in early Israel. (17.) 

The return of Naomi. (Ruth 1: 14-22.) 

In the harvest field. (Ruth 2.) 

IV. Special Points to be Noted 

The incomplete character of the conquest (Judges 1: 22 — 2:5); 
the social disorganization and religious condition of the period 



26 ADVANCED COURSE OF LESSONS 

>V" '"■'■ 
of the Judges ; the lesson which the vai'i33.U6 ndrratives of Judges are 

used to enforce; the local character of even the greatest judges; 

the coalition against the Canaanites under Deborah and Barak 

(note that several tribes take no part and that Judah and Simeon 

are not even mentioned) ; the first steps toward a monarchy, 

Gideon and Abimelech; private sanctuary in early Israel (ch. 17). 

Ruth, a story of the age of the Judges; contrast of scenes in 

Ruth and Judges; reputed ancestry of David; literary charm of 

book of Ruth. 

V. Points for Review in Class 

Subject of lesson; portion of Bible included: natural divisions 
of Judges ; material of which Judges is composed ; framework and 
lesson of the book; its relation to preceding and following books; 
the literary interest of the stories of the judges; elements of 
dramatic strength in the song of Deborah; the animating spirit 
of Hebrew poetry. 

Reason for placing Ruth next to Judges; historic interest of 
Ruth to the Israelites ; conditions of society as pictured in Judges 
and in Ruth; first attempt at a kingdom in Israel; position of 
the Levite in early Israel ; images in Jehovah worship. 

VI. Topics for Discussion 

To be assigned to individuals for report or made the subject of in- 
formal discussion in class. 

1. Relation of the didactic framework of Judges to the teach- 
ing of Deuteronomy. 

2. Does Ruth or Judges give the more accurate picture of 
social conditions as they existed generally in the period of 
struggle for the land? 

3. The characters of the principal judges, Othniel, Ehud, Debo- 
rah, Barak, Gideon, Jephthah and Samson; of Ruth and Naomi. 



ADVANCED COURSE OF LESSONS 2^ 

SECOND PERIOD— NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT 

Lesson VII 
Transition to Monarchy — i Samuel 

Reference Literature^ — Robertson, Old Testament and its Contents; 
Bennett and Adeney, Biblical Introduction; Driver, Literature of Old 
Testament; Hastings' Bible Dictionary; Encyclopaedia Britannica; 
McFadyen, Messages of the Historians; A. F, Kirkpatrick, Samuel, Vol, 
I (Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges) ; International Crit. Com., 
Samuel. 

I. The Book of i Samuel 

Samuel opens with the scene still in the age of the 
Judges, when Eli is priest at Shiloh, and carries the 
history through the entire life of Samuel, 
the reign of Saul, the rise of David to the 
position of a great warrior and his outlaw life, closing 
.with the death of Saul and his three sons in the 
battle of Gilboa. 

There is no better piece of historical writing in the 
Old Testament than i Samuel. In contrast with its 
predecessor, Judges, it does not give a 
mere series of disconnected narratives 
put together with the dominant purpose of teaching 
one or two lessons that are pointed with monoto- 
nous regularity, but rather a series of great historical 
events developing out of precedent conditions in 
a most orderly manner. While the book is charged 
with an equally deep religious spirit, the events are 
generally allowed to convey their own impression. 



28 ADVANCED COURSE OF LESSONS 

I Samuel attaches itself closely to the books that 
go before in the canon. Beginning its narrative in 
. the closing days of the first period, it 

otVi "R V carries the history, by natural stages, 
from this age to the period of national 
development with the rise of the permanent mon- 
archy. 

In connection with the general characteristics of 

I Samuel its literary merit has been suggested. 

^ . There is no superior poetry embodied, 

Chara^terisdcs ^^^ ^^^^ ^^ Hannah lacking any 
great strength or charm, but the 
prose narrative is of the highest order. The char- 
acters are drawn with distinct individuality, so that 
they are among the most real personalities of an- 
cient history. The sequence of historical events is 
indicated with just enough of detailed explanation 
to make each movement clear. Where there are 
dramatic possibilities, as in the tragic career of Saul, 
the rise to prominence and wild outlaw life of David, 
or the ideal friendship of Jonathan, they are treated 
with the picturesque power of the best era of ancient 
Hebrew narrative. 

II. Analysis of Lesson 

1. The Period of SamueL — i Samuel 1-12. 

2. The Reign of Saul. — i Samuel 13-31. 

III. Selected Home Readings 

Birth and dedication of Samuel. (1.) 
Meeting of Samuel and Saul. (9.) 
Saul among the prophets. (10: 1-13.) 
Saul's first battle. (11.) 



ADVANCED COURSE OF LESSONS 29 

• David and Jonathan. (20.) 
David an outlaw. (23, 24.) 
Battle of Gilboa. (31.) 

IV. Special Points to be Noted 

Birth and childhood of Samuel; downfall of Eli's house; cap- 
ture and return of the ark; selection of Saul by Samuel; steps 
by which Saul vindicates his appointment. 

David's introduction to the history and rise to power; Saul's 
estrangement from David; Jonathan's relations with David; 
David's flight to Abimelech at Nob, to Achish at Gath, to cave 
of Adullam; David an outlaw in the hill country of Judaea, a 
vassal of the king of Gath, the close of the reign of Saul, 

V. Points for Review in Class 

New period begun; subject of lesson; portion of Bible included; 
portion of history included; natural divisions of the book; the 
book as a piece of historical writing; relation of its contents to 
Judges; dramatic quality of the narrative. 

Samuel's work in the national history; Saul's fitness for his 
task; the rise of David; the decline of Saul; David's attitude 
toward Saul; the depths to which David is driven; the close of 
Saul's reign. 

VI. Topics for Discussion 

To be assigned to individuals for report or made the subject of in- 
formal discussion in class. 

1. The character of Eli, Samuel, Saul, Jonathan, David, as 
seen in i Samuel — ideal elements, weaknesses. 

2. The first appearances of the " sons of the prophets " and 
their relations to Samuel, possibly an indication of a patriotic 
enthusiasm for liberty from Philistine oppression (Histories of 
Hebrews, by Kent and Kittel). (Compare Sons of Liberty in 
America before war of American independence.) 

3. Rudimentary character of court and government in Saul's 
reign. 



30 ADVANCED COURSE OF LESSONS 

Lesson VIII 
The United Kingdom under David — 2 Samuel 

Reference Literature. — Robertson, Old Testament and its Contents; 
Bennett and Adeney, Biblical Introduction; Driver, Literature of Old 
Testament; Hastings' Bible Dictionary; Encyclopaedia Britannica; 
McFadyen, Messages of the Historians; A. F. Kirkpatrick, Samuel, 
Vol. II (Cambridge Bible); International Crit. Com., Samuel. 

I. The Book of 2 Samuel 

The book opens with David's receipt of the news 
of the death of Saul and Jonathan and with his 
beautiful elegy upon them. It includes 
David's rise to rule over all Israel and sub- 
stantially his entire reign. 

The earlier chapters of the book rival i Samuel 
in their clear presentation of the progressive steps 
by which David attained the govern- 
ment of all Israel. The central portion 
of the book consists chiefly of the court life and 
intrigues of David's family, and leaves some doubt 
as to the order of national events in his reign. At 
the close are several disconnected appendixes. 

First and Second Samuel were originally one book, 

and there is no very marked division between the 

. two. The first closes with the disas- 

^,, „ , trous battle of Gilboa and the second 
Other Books ,1 -r 1 • • 

opens with the swift runner bringing 

the news of its outcome to David. The connection 

of Samuel with 2 Kings is equally close; in fact, the 

four books of Samuel and Kings may almost be 

counted as four chapters of one work. 



ADVANCED COURSE OF LESSONS 3I 

Aside from the merits of vivid, orderly and clear 

historical writing which the first eight chapters of 

2 Samuel share with large portions 

_, , ^,. of I Samuel, the poem of the first 

Characteristics , , , , 

chapter and the almost epic quality 

of the Absalom narratives are especially noteworthy. 

The poem, David's lament, exhibits a spontaneity 

and depth of feeling, together with rare picturesque 

beauty, that place it supreme among all the elegies 

of ancient Israel. When America's chief executive 

was struck down in recent years, no more perfect 

expression of grief for a fallen leader could be found 

in literature to voice the sorrow of a mourning people. 

II. Analysis of Lesson 

1. Political History of David's Reign. — 2 Samuel 1—8. 

2. Court Life in David's Reign. — 2 Samuel 9-20. 

3. Appendix. — 2 Samuel 21-24. 

III. Selected Home Readings 

David's lament. (1: 17-27.) 

Downfall of Saul's son. (4.) 

Jerusalem made David's capital. (5: 4-12.) 

Jerusalem made abode of the ark. (6.) 

David mourns for Absalom. (18: 24 — 19: 10.) 

The revolt of Sheba. (20: 1-22.) 

IV. Specl\l Points to be Noted 

Steps by which David becomes king over all Israel; Jerusa- 
lem made the center; David's desire to build temple; successes 
by which he becomes ruler of surrounding peoples; summary of 
political history (ch. 8). 

David's friendly treatment of Jonathan's son Mephibosheth ; 
sin with Bathsheba and death of Uriah; repentance; birth of 



32 advancp:d course of lessons 

Solomon; Amnon's sin and his death by order of Absalom; 
rebellion of Absalom; flight of David; death of Absalom; return 
of David; Sheba's rebellion; David's organization of govern- 
ment (20: 23-26). 

Famine and sacrifice of sons of Saul; heroic exploits against 
the Philistines; David's song; David's "last words;" David's 
heroes and their exploits; the disastrous census. 

V. Points for Review in Class 

Subject of lesson; portion of Bible included; portion of history 
included; natural divisions of the book; connection between i 
and 2 Samuel; literary characteristics of 2 Samuel. 

David's rise to power; David's selection of a political and reli- 
gious capital; expansion of David's empire; the canker at the 
heart of the court; readiness of the people for rebellion and 
jealousies between north and south; cruel superstition implied 
in sacrifice of Saul's sons; heroic quality of David's age. 

VI. Topics for Discussion 

To be assigned to individuals for report or made the subject of in- 
formal discussion in class. 

1. The far-reaching effects of David's sin in spite of repentance. 

2. The advantages of Jerusalem as a capital (Kent, History of 
Hebrews; George Adam Smith, Historical Geography). 

3. The different aspects of David's reign given by chapters 
1-8 and 9-20. 

4. What was David's real attitude toward Saul and his house? 



ADVANCED COURSE OF LESSONS ^^ 

Lesson IX 
The United Kingdom under Solomon — i Kings i-ii 

Reference Literature. — Robertson Old Testament and its Contents; 
Bennett and Adeney, Biblical Introduction; Driver, Literature of Old 
Testament; Hastings' Bible Dictionary; Encyclopaedia Britannica; 
McFadyen, Messages of the Historians. 

I. The Narrative in Kings 

Kings opens with an account of the last days of 
David and of his assigning the throne to Solomon. 
The nine chapters following give an account 
of Solomon's reign, which is not a strictly 
chronological history, but consists rather of groups 
of narratives illustrating his building operations, 
wisdom and magnificence. The section (chs. i-ii) 
closes with an account of the internal evils and ex- 
ternal foes that presaged the downfall of united 
Israel, recorded in the first chapter of the following 
section of the book. 

These chapters resemble more closely the central 
section of 2 Samuel (9-20) than any other part of 
that book. They do not, like i Samuel 
and 2 Samuel 1-8, contain an orderly 
national history, but instead give glimpses of the 
life at court. Here there is a difference, however. 
Chapters 1 and . 2 are raost closely like the pictures 
from the life of David's court in the central section 
of 2 Samuel, while the remaining chapters seem 
animated chiefly by a desire to illustrate the lesson 
of Solomon's glory and downfall. As in Judges, 
the lesson is thrust forward. In Samuel, on the 



34 ADVANCED COURSE OF LESSONS 

contrary, the events are usually allowed to speak 

their own lesson in their own way. 

Obviously the opening of Kings forms the closest 

connection with 2 Samuel, concluding, as it does, 

the history of David's reign and in- 

^ , ^ , troducing that of Solomon. It is 
Other Books .^ 1 t^ • ., . 

interesting to note that David s reign 

fills one entire book, his earlier life forms a consider- 
able part of another and his last days overlap a 
third. 

The portion of Kings under consideration contains 

some vivid pictures, as the scenes connected with 

David's assuring the throne to Solo- 

^, ^ ,\. mon or the visit of the queen of 

Characteristics ^i i ^ • 1 • • 1 • 

Sheba, but gives no such insight into 

the inner life of Solomon as the David narratives 
do for their hero. The conspicuously didactic pur- 
pose of the writer is incompatible with the greatest 
literary charm. One of the striking literary fea- 
tures of this section is the conscious art with which 
the material is arranged. After the introduction 
that places Solomon securely on the throne, the 
central point is the description of his buildings 
(chs. 6, 7). On either side of this is placed a 
group of narratives illustrating his wisdom and 
magnificence. A new feature to be noted is the 
reference at the close of chapter 11 to a fuller history 
for further knowledge of Solomon's reign. The 
historical books from Genesis to 2 Samuel give evi- 
dence of being compiled from earlier writings, but 
aside from the three poetic quotations attributed 
to the book of the Wars of Jehovah and the book of 



ADVANCED COURSE OF LESSONS 35 

Jashar, they have left their sources unnamed. The 
books of Kings and Chronicles, on the other hand, 
make frequent reference to earlier histories. 

II. Analysis of Lesson 

1. Introduction to Solomon's Reign, — i Kings 1, 2. 

2. Solomon's Reign. — i Kings 3-11. 

III. Selected Home Readings 

Solomon ratified as David's successor. (1: 9-53.) 
Power, wealth and wisdom of Solomon. (4: 21-34.) 
Preparations for building. (5.) 

Foreign relations of Solomon's kingdom. (9: 26 — 10: 29.) 
Forebodings of downfall. (11.) 

IV. Special Points to be Noted 

Securing of throne by Solomon; death of David; killing of 
Adonijah and Joab; alliance with Egypt; Solomon's choice; 
an instance of wisdom in the judgment about the child; extent 
of Solomon's kingdom; Solomon's wisdom in natural history; 
alliance with Hiram; building temple, palaces and making 
temple appurtenances; dedicating temple; building store cities 
and cities for chariots and horsemen; Solomon's sea trade; visit 
of queen of Sheba; trade with Egypt; the dark side of Solomon's 
reign; political disasters; Jeroboam's rebellion; Jeroboam prom- 
ised the larger part of the kingdom ; his flight to Egypt ; death of 
Solomon. 

V. Points for Review in Class 

Subject of lesson; portion of Bible included; portion of history 
included; natural division of the section in Kings; differences 
between i Kings 1-11 and Samuel; chief purpose of chapters 
3-11; connection between 2 Samuel and i Kings: lost historical 
sources referred to. 

Rivalry for throne of David; destruction of dangerous rival 
and general; chief glory of Solomon's character; sources of ma- 
terial prosperity; greatest event of reign; evils of Solomon's 
character and rule; foreshadowings of disaster. 



36 ADVANCED COURSE OF LESSONS 



VI. Topics for Discussion 

To be assigned to individuals for report or made the subject of in- 
formal discussion in class. 

1. Solomon's success as a ruler compared with that of David 

2. Solomon's character compared with David. 

3. Judging from i Kings alone, what; was the nature of Solo- 
mon's wisdom? 



ADVANCED COURSE OF LESSONS 37 

THIRD PERIOD— NATIONAL DECLINE 
I. DECLINE OF NORTHERN ISRAEL 

Lesson X 

The Northern Kingdom and Two Great Prophets 
— I Kings 12 — 2 Kings 13 

Reference Literature. — See Lesson IX. 

I. The Narrative in Kings 

The portion of Kings considered (i Kings 12 — 2 
Kings 13) begins with the secession of northern 
Israel from Solomon's son Rehoboam, and 
includes approximately the first century and 
a half of the history of divided Israel ^ (about 
937-781 B.C.). The history covers the separate 
dynasties of Jeroboam I, Baasha, Omri and, in 
part, that of Jehu, and includes the age of Elijah 
and Elisha. 

The section is made up of brief summaries of the 
reigns of each king, presumably taken from the 
now lost history of the kings of Israel, 
to which constant reference is made, 
interspersed with longer narratives in which the 
prophets are the central figures. The facts are 
fitted into a stereotyped, chronological framework, 
giving relative dates in the history of the two king- 
doms and other items. 

1 In the present lesson the sections referring exclusively to southern 
Israel are to be left out of consideration. These are i Kings 14:21— 
i5-' 24; 22: 41-50; ? Kings II, 12. 



^S ADVANCED COURSE OF LESSONS 

Chapter 12 records a very great change in the 

political history of the people, but the connection 

P , . with chapter 1 1 , which prepared the 

Other Books ^^^ ^^^ ^^^ transition to the divided 

kingdom, is immediate. 

From this point there is a marked change in the 

structure of the narrative. The reign of David 

occupies the entire book of 2 Sam- 

CharacIeSties "^'' *^^ ^^^^"^ °^ Solomon fills one- 
half of I Kings, while the history 
of the later reigns is given with great brevity, ex- 
cept as stories of the prophets are introduced in 
connection with one or another of the kings. The 
rigid framework and brief summaries of historic 
events contain little of literary interest. The stories 
of the prophets, however, are in the best style of 
narrative. Scenes from the life of Elijah and Elisha 
are among the most vivid pictures of the Old Testa- 
ment. The stern ascetic from the desert appearing 
unexpectedly at critical moments, with his confident 
messages of denunciation, is a figure that kindles 
the imagination. We are led, too, with keen sym- 
pathy into his hour of apparent defeat and despair. 
More of the love of wonder working, but far less 
of deep, living personality and moral significance 
characterizes the accounts of Elisha. 

II. Analysis of Lesson 

The material does not lend itself readily to any clear and 
broad division, but the following analysis may be adopted to 
represent the general relations of the two kingdoms. 

I. Period of Hostility between North and South. — i Kings 
12: 1—16. 28. 



ADVANCED COURSE OF LESSONS 39 

2. Period of Friendly Relations between North and vSouth. — 
I Kings 16: 29 — 2 Kings 11: 20. 

3. Period of Hostility between North and South. — 2 Kings 
11:21—. 

III. Selected Home Readings 

The division, (i Kings 12: 1-24.) 
First change of dynasty, (i Kings 15: 25-34.) 
Second change of dynasty, (i Kings 16: 8-22.) 
Third change of dynasty. (2 Kings 9: 1-29.) 
A prophet in despair, (i Kings 19: 1-18.) 

Defence of private rights against royal oppressor. (i Kings 
21: 1-22.) 

IV. Special Points to be Noted 

Causes of the division of the kingdom (note the union was 
never very secure ; jealousies appeared and rebellion was at- 
tempted under David and Solomon) ; frequent revolutions in north- 
em Israel after the division; alliance between north and south 
from xAhab's day, cemented by marriage between royal houses; 
active part of prophets in the revolutions of Jeroboam and Jehu; 
Elijah's two great principles of hostility to heathen alliances 
in jealous}^ for Jehovah and defence of private rights against 
royal tyranny; the mild and beneficent character of most of 
Elisha's activity in contrast to the stem reform measures of 
Elijah; reappearance of sons of prophets in connection with 
Elisha; long and devastating wars with Syria; appearance of 
mighty Assyrian power in Israel's history. 

V. Points for Review ii\ Class 

Subject of lesson; portion of Bible included; portion of Israel's 
history included; possible division of the period; two conspicu- 
ous prophets of the age; the great change in political history of 
Israel; change in the literary structure of the historical narra- 
tive. 

Influences that led to division; number of changes of dynasty 
in first century and a half of northern kingdom; activity of 



40 ADVANCED COURSE OF LESSONS 

prophets in affairs of government; principles for which EHjah 
stood; contrast between Elijah and Elisha; external enemies of 
Israel. 

VI. Topics for Discussion 

To be assigned to individuals for report or made the subject of in- 
formal discussion in class. 

1. The contrast in stability of government in northern and 
southern Israel. 

2. Did Elisha teach any great epoch-making, moral and reli- 
gious truths such as those for which Elijah stood? 

3. Characters of Elijah and Elisha — ideal elements and 
defects. 

4. Was not Palestine the true " cradle of liberty " for America? 
- — Influence of such examples of resistance to tyrants as the story 
of Elijah and Ahab in Naboth's vineyard. 



ADVANCED COURSE OF LESSONS 41 



Lesson XI 

Prosperity and Corruption of Israel, Warning of 
Amos — 2 Kings 14:23-29, Amos 

Reference Literature. — Robertson, Old Testament and its Contents; 
Bennett and Adeney, Biblical Introduction; Driver, Literature of Old 
Testament; Hastings' Bible Dictionary; Encyclopaedia Britannica; 
Sanders and Kent, Messages of the Earlier Prophets; G, A. Smith, The 
Book of the Twelve (Expositor's Bible). 

I. The Biblical Material 

Kings gives a brief account of the prosperous but 
evil reign of Jeroboam IL It was in the latter half 
of this reign that the prophet Amos appeared 
(probably about 750 B.C.)- The book bear- 
ing the name of this prophet forms the chief matter 
of the present lesson. The book opens with an 
address announcing divine vengeance upon Israel's 
neighbors for their acts of cruelty, but suddenly 
the same principle is applied to Israel as to her 
neighbors. She is charged with heartless conduct 
that will in like manner call down vengeance upon 
her. In a series of addresses that follows, the charges 
against Israel are expanded and made definite. Then 
comes a succession of visions in which the approach- 
ing doom is symbolically presented. In the midst of 
this latter section a brief historical notice is inserted 
that tells of the attempt of Jeroboam's priest to 
prevent Amos from continuing his denunciations. 



42 ADVANCED COURSE OF LESSONS 

The book of Amos is now generally regarded as 
the earliest of that unique group of writings which 
_ we call the prophets.^ Heretofore we 

have met stories about prophets, giv- 
ing some idea of their work as patriotic leaders, 
teachers of public morality and reformers of reli- 
gion. From this point forward we have the words 
of the prophets written down by themselves or their 
immediate followers. In many cases their essays 
and addresses throw the fullest and most vivid light 
upon the life and conditions of their times — po- 
litical, economic, social and religious. 

The book of Amos is a notable example of nearly 
all aspects of prophecy. Much of the personal 

history of the prophet appears in the book. 

Author TT- t: • 4.1. u ' f 

His home was m the barren region or 

Tekoa, a few miles south of Bethlehem, where he 
was engaged in humble shepherd life, quite apart 
from the companies of prophets. He was thus a 
resident of southern Israel, but his recorded mes- 
sages were delivered at the royal sanctuary of north- 
ern Israel, at Beth-el, where Jeroboam I had estab- 
lished worship for his people. 

Great rhetorical skill is exhibited in the opening 
address of Amos, in which the prophet applies his 
doctrine of divine justice to the 
iterary ^ enemies of Israel before directing it to 

Characteristics j^^^^^ herself. Throughout his ad- 
dresses Amos' fierce denunciations are rendered 

1 The view that Joel is earlier, made dominant for a. time by the 
argument of Credner, published in 1831, can hardly be maintained 
to-day. 



ADVANCED COURSE OF LESSONS 43 

poignant by concrete and vivid pictures of the evils 
attacked. His clauses are often balanced and his 
periods regularly constructed, while images from 
nature and illustrations from history abound. '' His 
imagery, in fact, from its freshness and appropriate- 
ness almost reminds us of Dante." 

II. Analysis of Lesson 

1. The Prosperous Reign of Jeroboam IL — 2 Kings 14: 23-29. 

2. The Message of Amos. 

(a) Opening address. (Amos 1, 2.) 
(6) Future addresses. (Amos 3-6.) 
(c) Visions of doom. (Amos 7-9.) 

(Historical statement, Amos 7: 10-17.) 

III. Selected Home Readings 

The prosperous reign. (2 Kings 14: 23-29.) 

Opening address. (Amos 1, 2.) 

The virgin of Israel is fallen. (Amos 5.) 

The interruption of Amos' preaching. (Amos 7: 10-17.) 

The vision of summer fruit. (Amos 8.) 

IV. Special Points to be Noted 

Prosperity and expansion under Jeroboam II; the vices that 
flourished under outward prosperity; Amos' teaching that 
Jehovah rules over the nations and punishes all forms of in- 
human cruelty; his application of this principle to Jehovah's 
own people, whose privileges are merely ground of greater re- 
sponsibility; the chief sin*: attacked by Amos — greed, bribery, 
perverting justice, oppression of poor and weak, false weights 
and measures of the merchant, licentiousness, violence, robbery, 
indifference in ease and luxury, opposition to religious teachers; 
the idea of the people in Amos' day that their material prosperity 
was a mark of divine favor and that Jehovah was pleased by 
worship; regardless of righteous living; Amos' teaching that 



44 ADVANCED COURSE OF LESSONS 

justice between man and man is the fundamental requirement 
of a just God, and that without this all worship is hateful; the 
threatening of Jehovah's vengeance through a foreign foe. 

V. Points for Review in Class 

Subject of lesson; portion of Bible included; two main divi- 
sions of lesson; chief facts of reign of Jeroboam II; date and 
place of Amos' preaching; the general thought of the first address 
and its application to Israel; the substance of the following 
addresses; the charge of Amaziah against Amos. 

The moral character of Israel as seen by Amos; the difference 
between the religious belief of the people and of the prophet; 
Amos' outlook for the future of a morally corrupt nation. 

VI. Topics for Discussion 

To be assigned to individuals for report or made the subject of in- 
formal discussion in class. 

1. Elijah as the forerunner of Amos. 

2. Why is the religion of the Old Testament called an " ethical 
religion "? 

3. The prophet as a citizen. 

4. Have the conditions of the time of Jeroboam II and the 
teachings of Amos any relation to modern America? 



ADVANCED COURSE OF LESSONS 45 



Lesson XII 

Warning of Hosea and Downfall of Israel — 
Hosea ; 2 Kings 15 : 8 — 18 ; 12 

Reference Literature. — Robertson, Old Testament and its Contents; 
Bennett and Adeney, Biblical Introduction; Driver, Literature of Old 
Testament; Hastings' Bible Dictionary; Encyclopaedia Britannica; 
Sanders and Kent, Messages of the Earlier Prophets; G. A. Smith, The 
Book of the Twelve (Expositor's Bible). 

I. The Biblical Material 

The prophet Hosea preached in northern Israel 
a few years later than Amos (probably within the 

Scope P^^i^^ 745-735 B-C.). The book which 
contains his teaching- forms the ^^rincipal 
matter of the present lesson. The first three chap- 
ters give the heart of Hosea 's message and show 
the source of his deepest teachings in his bitter 
personal experience.^ Hosea's unfaithful wife is 
to him the symbol of Israel, which has deserted 
Jehovah to follow Baal. His own faithftil love that 
leads him to buy her back when she has fallen into 
miserable slavery is the interpreter of Jehovah's 
unquenchable love for Israel. The impossibility 
of receiving back the fallen one to inimediate and 
full fellowship is the type of Israel's long period 

1 Some understand the picture of Hosea's personal experience as 
merely figurative or allegorical, but it seems far niore probable that 
the prophet was actually deserted by his wife and came at length to 
see in his own experience the symbol of the relation of Jehovah and 
Israel. 



4-6 ADVANCED COURSE OF LESSONS 

of expiation. The remaininf^ chapters of the book 
seem a broken stimmary of many addresses in which 
the i^reat trtiths of a faithless nation, a loving God, 
a period of expiation and ultimate restoration are 
presented in ever- varying form. 

The opening chapters of Hosea fall within the 
prosperous era of Jeroboam II, while the remainder 
of the book seems to have as its background the 
troublous period immediately following, when usurper 
followed usurper and the hapless nation eagerly 
sought aid from any quarter. These later addresses 
find their historical setting in the earlier years of 
the period described in 2 Kings 15: 8 — 18: 12, w^hile 
the later years included in this section of Kings 
contain the speedy fulfilment of the predicted judg- 
ments, terminating in the complete destruction of 
northern Israel by Assyria in 722 b.c. 

The book of Hosea is a perfect sequel to Amos. 

In the condition of the national life which its later 

chapters reveal, it exhibits the inevitable 

/^ Vl O 1"0 f^+OT" 

outcome of the prosperous corruption 
and moral indifference against which Amos had 
thundered denunciations and warnings. In the mes- 
sage which it brings in face of these conditions, 
also, it is an advance upon Amos. Hosea takes 
up the truth of that stem son of the wilderness, 
and embodies it in a fuller, more complete mes- 
sage than had been given to any man before him. 
To Amos' demand of righteousness from a righteous 
God, he adds the appeal of love from a pitying 
Father, who must chasten but cannot utterly reject 
his people. 



ADVANCED COURSE OF LESSONS 47 

In Hosea one finds the broken language of intense 

feeling rather than that of logic. His pictures are 

not so fully elaborated as those 

Literary .... ^ • . . 

, t * t* Amos, nor is his material arranged 

in so orderly a manner. In depth 

of sympathy, however, and in delicacy of touch, he 

far surpasses his predecessor. His figures, drawn 

especially from forest, mountain and field, are at 

times supremely beautiful, as when he likens Israel's 

evanescent attempts at goodness to the morning 

cloud or the dew that goeth early away. Again, 

they are of terse power unexcelled — ' ' They sow 

the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind." In 

both Amos and Hosea, love of nature's changing 

wonders breathes with the freshness of the morning. 

II. Analysis of Lesson 

1. The Message of Hosea. 

(a) Israel the faithless wife. (Hosea 1-3.) 

(b) Further discourses upon the faithlessness of Israel 
and faithfulness of Jehovah. (Hosea 4-14.) 

2. The Downfall of Israel. (2 Kings 15:8—18: 12.) 

III. Selected Home Readings 

The faithless wife. (Hosea 1: 2-9; 2: 2-13; 3: 1-5.) 
The Lord's controversy. (Hosea 4.) 
Come, and let us return. (Hosea 6, 7.) 
When Israel was a child. (Hosea 11: i-ii.) 
The judgment on Israel. (2 Kings 17: 1-23.) 

IV. Special Points to be Noted 

The time of Hosea's ministry; the interpretation of his opening 
chapters; the three or four great truths of his teaching; the time 



48 ADVANCED COURSE OF LESSONS 

elapsing between the probable close of Hosea's ministry and 
the destruction of northern Israel; the way in which Hosea 
supplements Amos; the lack of logical arrangement in the book; 
the supreme truth which Hosea gave to Israel; the poetic quality 
of his nature. 

The moral, social and religious conditions attacked by Hosea 
— worship of Baal, lack of knowledge of God, absence of truth 
and mercy, stealing, adultery, violence, false balances, priests 
and king perverting justice, the priests guilty of robbery; deep 
moral and spiritual demands of Hosea — mercy and not sacrifice, 
the knowledge of God more than burnt-offerings (6: 6). 

Anarchy after death of Jeroboam II (2 Kings 15: 8-16, 
23-31); judgment of book of kings upon northern Israel 
(2 Kings 17: 1-23). 

V. Points for Review in Class 

Subject of lesson; portion of Bible included; two main divi- 
sions of lesson; relation of Hosea's ministry to Amos' in time, 
in character of message; Hosea's great truths for Israel and 
the world ; the literary characteristics of Hosea. 

Religious conditions of Hosea's time; social conditions; Hosea's 
teaching as to the nature of God and his will for men; political 
conditions after death of Jeroboam II; Biblical estimate of 
character of northern Israel. 

VI. Topics for Discussion 

To be assigned to individuals for report or made the subject of in- 
formal discussion in class. ' 

1. The personal experience of Hosea as fitting him for his 
prophetic ministry. 

2. The judgment of Amos and Hosea upon formal worship 
as compared with moral and spiritual life. 

3. Hosea's conception of a God of love, and the relation of 
this attribute to justice and judgment in his teaching. 

4. The providential character of the appearance of Amos and 
Hosea within a generation before the fall of Israel. 



ADVANCED COURSE OF LESSONS 49 

Lesson XIII 
Review 

I. The Biblical Material 

The twelve lessons now completed include the 
historical tradition of Israel from the creation to 
the fall of northern Israel, together with 
the two earliest books of prophecy. This 
history has been divided into three periods: ^I. The 
Beginnings; II. National Development; III. Na- 
tional Decline. Under the third period the lessons 
have thus far followed the decline and fall of northern 
Israel alone. The first period closes with the age 
of the Judges, a time of confusion before there is 
any central government or adequate federation of 
the tribes of Israel. The second period opens with 
the events leading up to the establishment of mon- 
archy, and includes the brief period of the united 
kingdom of Israel that closes with the death of Sol- 
omon. The portion of the third period considered 
opens with the schism of Jeroboam I, and includes 
the two centuries of the kingdom of northern Israel, 
ending with the destruction of the capital and 
deportation of its inhabitants. 

The great series of historical books. Genesis to 
2 Kings (exclusive of the legal books, Leviticus and 

^, Deuteronomy), contain material of the 

Character 

most varied character, from primitive 

traditions to contemporary records, from geneal- 
ogies and law codes to stirring poems and noble 



50 ADVANCED COURSE OF LESSONS 

stories of hero prophets. The books of Kings are 
manifestly compiled from earlier writings, to some 
of which reference is continually made — the books 
of the Chronicles of the kings of Israel and of Judah. 
In Numbers, Joshua and Samuel certain bits of 
poetry are attributed to earlier collections of Hebrew 
song, though no other sources are definitely referred 
to. A careful examination, however, of these and 
the other historical books makes it clear that they 
were composed in much the same manner as the 
books »of Kings. 

All the varied material is put together with a 

plan and purpose that gives unity to the whole. 

Throughout the lessons the effort has 

been made to emphasize the relation 

of book to book, showing how each 

follows naturally upon its predecessor in the series 

and leads on to those which come after. 

Much stress has been laid upon the variety of 
literary forms and the beauty from a purely es- 
thetic standpoint of many portions 

^, ^ . ^. of the ancient books reviewed. The 

Characteristics 

poetry noted has included bits of 

early folk-song, triumphal odes, elegies and other 
varieties of early poetry that almost defy classifi- 
cation according to our later classic standards; for 
example, the oracles of Balaam. The prose has 
included the earlier legal codes of Israel and material 
relative to the forms and appurtenances of sacri- 
ficial worship, inwoven with the most interesting 
stories of the early tribal wanderings and of the 
nation's heroes who led the warlike and the moral 



ADVANCED COURSE OF LESSONS 5 1 

struggles of ancient Israel. Elsewhere the books 
have dealt with the rise and fall of dynasties and 
other matters relating to the course of government 
such as make up so large a part of the usual historical 
writings in other nations. Yet, even from the 
point of view of purely literary interest, the most 
significant thing to note is hardly the variety and 
beauty of matter that is woven into a chronological 
and historical unity, but rather the moral and reli- 
gious interpretation of events that gives a deeper 
unity to the entire series of books. 



IT. Analysis of Lesson 

1. The Beginnings. — Genesis, Exodus, Numbers, Joshua, 
Judges, Ruth. 

(a) The beginnings of the human race. (Genesis 1-11.) 

(b) The beginnings of the chosen people. (Genesis 12- 
50.) 

(c) From bondage to freedom. (Exodus.) 

(d) Israel on the march. (Numbers.) 

(e) Entering into possession of the promised land. 
(Joshua.) 

(/) A time of vacillation. (Judges, Ruth.) 

2. National Development, (i and 2 Samuel, i Kings 1-11.) 

(a) Transition to monarchy, (i Samuel.) 

(b) The united kingdom under David. (2 Samuel.) 

(c) The united kingdom under Solomon, (i Kings 1-11.) 

3. National Decline. 

/. Northern Israel, (i Kings 12 — 2 Kings 18: 12.) 

(a) The northern kingdom and two great prophets. 

(i Kings 12—2 Kings 13.) 

(b) Prosperity and corruption of northern Israel; warn- 
ing of Amos. (2 Kings 14: 23-29; Amos.) 

(c) Warning of Hosea and downfall of Israel. (Hosea; 

2 Kings 15: 8 — 18: 12.) 



52 ADVANCED COURSE OF LESSONS 

III. Points for Review in Class 

Portions of Bible included in twelve lessons; portion of history 
included in the books reviewed; prophetic writings included; 
three periods of the history; division points between the periods. 

Variety of material in the historical books; the relation of the 
books studied to one another; forms of poetry noticed; variety 
of prose writing ; the deeper unity of all the books studied. 

Subject of each book or part of book as indicated in the sub- 
divisions under the analysis of this lesson; the point at which 
each historical book takes up and leaves the history as indicated 
in discussion of " scope " under each lesson; the place in the his- 
tory of each of the two writing prophets of northern Israel. 

IV. Topics for Discussion 

To be assigned to individuals for report or made the subject of in- 
formal discussion in class. 

1. Does appreciation of literary quality help or hinder the 
devotional use of the Bible? 

2. The greatest moral and religious lessons impressed by the 
historical writings. 

3. The chief lessons taught by Amos; bj^ Hosea. 

4. The Jews themselves call the books of Joshua, Judges, 
Samuel and Kings prophets. In what sense is this title appro- 
priate ? 



ADVANCED COURSE OF LESSOIS'S 53 

THIRD PERIOD — NATIONAL DECLINE 
B. DECLINE OF JUDAH 

Lesson XIV 

Time of Stability — i Kings 14:21 — 2 Kings 
15:7^; 2 Chronicles 10:27 

Reference Literature. — Robertson, Old Testament and its Contents; 
Bennett and Adeney, Biblical Introduction; Driver, Literature of Old 
Testament; McFadyen, Messages of the Prophetic and Priestly His- 
torians; Chronicles (Expositor's Bible); Hastings' Bible Dictionary; 
Encyclopaedia Britannica. 

I. The Biblical Material 
The sections of the Bible considered contain the 
history of Southern Israel from the beginning of 
Rehoboam's reign to the death of Uzziah, 
when Isaiah's prophetic mission began, 
and include the period of Amos and Hosea in North- 
ern Israel. The time covered is approximately two 
hundred years (937-737 b.c). During this period 
the house of David held the throne of Southern 
Israel continuously, while several revolutions in 
Northern Israel resulted in frequent changes of dy- 
nasty. The brunt of foreign war was borne largely 
by the more exposed territory of the northern 
tribes. Their land was also the scene of the chief 
prophetic activity of these two centuries. Elijah, 
Elisha, Amos and Hosea did their work in Northern 
Israel. 

The character of the material in Kings has already 

^ Portions referring to Northern Israel have already been reviewed; 
those dealing with Southern Israel are : i Kings 14: 21 — 15: 24; 22: 
1-50; 2 Kings 3:4-27; S: 16-29; 9: 16-29; 11; 12; 14: 1-22; 15: 1-7, 



54 ADVANCED COURSE OF LESSONS 

been considered in connection with the parallel his- 

^, tory of Northern Israel with which it 

Character . . , , . 

IS interwoven, so that there is now op- 
portunity to discuss the Books of Chronicles. In a 
way these are parallel with the entire series of his- 
torical books that we have already studied from 
Genesis to 2 Kings. They begin with Adam and 
continue even later than Kings. The material, how- 
ever, from Adam to Saul consists of little more than 
genealogical matter; the historical narrative begin- 
ning with Saul's death (ch. 10). This point of be- 
ginning suggests instantly the purpose of the history. 
It is the line of David and the history associated with 
it, especially the temple history, in which the Chron- 
icler is primarily interested. The entire cha^racter of 
the books shows the same bent; Northern Israel is 
left out of the history, except when in direct contact 
with Judah, arid the priests and Levites are made 
much more prominent than in Samuel and Kings. 
Those may be called dominantly prophetic histories, 
using the events of the past to teach the truths dear 
to Israel's prophets. Chronicles, with its continua- 
tion in Ezra and Nehemiah, is dominantly priestly 
in its interest, and constitutes a priestly rewriting of 
that portion of the history that centers in Jerusalem 
and the temple. 

The relation of Chronicles to Samuel and Kings 
has already been indicated, in a measure, as a re- 

.^ , . ^ ^, writing of part of the history at a 
Relation to the , ^, ^ ^ , ^ , ^ . 

Other Historical ^^^^^ ^^^^- ^^ ^^^ ^^^^^ ^^^.^'^^ 

Books ^^ ^^^ ^^^ Testament, Chronicles 

was styled ia paraleipomena, the 



ADVANCED COURSE OF LESSONS 55 

things passed over. While some things are added 
in Chronicles, this is hardly an adequate designation 
of the book. In its genealogies Chronicles comes 
down to a period long after the exile, with the close 
of which its narrative ceases ; and in Ezra and Nehe- 
miah the series of histories carries the record down 
one hundred years after the return from exile, while 
Kings closes during the exile. 

In literary attractiveness Chronicles cannot be 
compared favorably with Samuel and Kings. While 
in parts there are verbatim agree- 
p, . . ments, passages in Chronicles are 

often somewhat barren condensa- 
tions of the earlier material, particularly in the genea- 
logical portions. The vivid narratives of Elijah and 
Elisha are left out with the other records of Northern 
Israel, and the ecclesiastical interest of the whole 
dulls the edge of its human vitalit3'\ 

As in the case of the other historical books, Chron- 
icles is anonymous. The character of the narrative, 
however, strongly suggests that the 
compiler was a Levite who lived some- 
time after the reforms of Ezra and Nehemiah. 

II. Analysis of Lesson 

As in the corresponding era of Northern Israel, the narrative 
does not lend itself readily to any clear and broad division. The 
rough analysis adopted there was based upon the general rela- 
tions of the two kingdoms to each other: 

1. Period of Hostility between North and South. 

— 2 Chronicles 10-17. 

2. Period of Friendly Relations between North and South. 

— 2 Chronicles 18-23. 



56 ADVANCED COURSE OF LESSONS 

3, Period of Hostility between North and South. 

— 2 Chronicles 24-28. 

III. Selected Home Readings 

Rehoboam and Shishak. (i Kin^s 14: 21-31; 2 Chronicles 11, 
12.) 

Alliance between Ahab and Jehoshaphat. (i Kings 22: 1-38; 
2 Chronicles 18.) 

War of Jehoram and Jehoshaphat against Moab (2 Kings 
3:4-27.) 

Athaliah's usurpation and overthrow. (2 Kings 11; 2 Chron- 
icles 22: 10 — 23.) 

Battle of Amaziah and Jehoash. (2 Kings 14: 8-16; 2 Chron- 
icles 25: 17-24.) 

IV. Speclvl Points to be Noted 

Invasion of Shishak, king of Egypt, in Rehoboam's reign; 
hostilities between North and South in reigns of Rehoboam, 
Abijah and Asa; alliance of Jehoshaphat with Ahab and Ahaziah 
of Israel; marriage of Jehoram with Athaliah, daughter of Ahab; 
alliance of Ahaziah of Judah with Jehoram of Israel against Syria; 
hostility renewed in days of Amaziah of Judah and Joash of 
Israel; the loyalty of Judah to the house of David (Athaliah, 
daughter of Ahab and wife of Jehoram of Judah, usurps the 
throne after the death of her son, but is overthrown and the law- 
ful heir is made king; throughout, the Davidic line is maintained) ; 
the center of prophetic activity from the time of Elijah to Hosea; 
relations of the two historical series of the Old Testament. 



V. Points for Review in Class 

Subject of the third period, division B ; subject of lesson ; por- 
tion of Bible included; portion of history included; comparative 
stability of government in the two kingdoms; which division of 
Israel was the more exposed to foreign attack? which apparently 
was the center of the greater prophetic activity in this period? 
parallelism between Chronicles and Genesis — Kings ; differences 



ADVANCED COURSE OF LESSONS 57 

in purpose, in material, in years included ; invasion during Reho- 
boam's reign; relations between North and South from death of 
Solomon to Amaziah. 

VI. Topics for Discussion 

To be assigned to individuals for report or made the subject of in- 
formal discussion in class. 

1. Differences in the point of view of the priestly and prophetic 
histories. ' 

2. Sources used in the composition of Chronicles (see Ref. Lit.). 



58 ADVANCED COURSE OF LESSONS 



Lesson XV 

The Assyrian Peril — 2 Kings 15 : 32 — 20 ^ ; 
Isaiah 1-39 

Reference Literature. — Robertson, Old Testament and its Contents: 
Bennett and Adeney, Biblical Introduction; Driver, Literature of Old 
Testament; Isaiah (Expositor's Bible); Cornill, Prophets of Israel; 
Driver, Isaiah, his Life and Times; Sanders and Kent, Messages of the 
Earlier Prophets; Hastings' Bible Dictionary; Encyclopaedia Britan- 
nica. 

I. The Biblical Material 

The passages selected in Kings record the reigns 
of Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah, during which Isaiah 
ministered. These were filled with the 
most stirring political events. Northern 
Israel and her old foe, Syria, united in a strange alli- 
ance against Judah, probably with a view to 
forcing her into a coalition with them against their 
dreaded enemy Ass3^ria. Ahaz, alarmed, called 
upon Assyria to relieve him from the combined at- 
tack, and Judah thus became a vassal of Assyria 
(734 B.C.). A dozen years later Samaria was cap- 
tured and Northern Israel destroyed by Assyria. 
Twenty years after, in the reign of Hezekiah, Judah, 
having rebelled against Assyria, was devastated, and 
Jerusalem was saved from a fate similar to that 
of Samaria only by the providential destruction 
of the Assyrian forces on the borders of Egypt 
(701 B.C.). Through these years of frequent crisis 
and alarm, Isaiah, preacher, poet and statesman, did 

I2 Kings 15: 32-38 CJotham); i6 (Ahaz); 18-20 (Hezekiah). 



ADVANCED COURSE OF LESSONS 59 

his life work. The record of this is partly contained 
in the narrative of Kings; our chief knowledge, how- 
ever, of Isaiah's work is gathered from the collection 
of narratives and sermons in Isaiah 1-39. These are 
not arranged in chronological order (for example, 
chapter 6 is the inaugural vision) and it is difficult 
to group them on any basis. Following a rough 
classification of subjects, two groups of home proph- 
ecies may be marked out: 1-9: 7, Judah and Jeru- 
salem; 28-33, Judah and Samaria. The remaining 
chapters are largely announcements of judgment 
upon foreign nations, 3^et these foreign prophecies, 
like the judgments upon the nations in Amos, find 
their purpose in the needs and perils of Judah. It 
is, for example, to dissuade Judah from the folly of 
listening to Egypt's solicitations to revolt against 
Assyria that Isaiah predicts enslavement of the 
Egyptians by the Assyrians. 

Adequate appreciation of the scope of these chap- 
ters would involve a study of each short section ar- 
ranged as far as possible in chronological order and 
considered in view of the historical circumstances that 
call forth the particular act or words. Such a study 
would show Isaiah, early in his ministry, seeking to 
prevent Ahaz from taking the fateful step that made 
him vassal of Assyria; it would show him, when Israel 
was tottering to her fall, promising Jehovah as 
strength and crown to the remnant, -after present 
judgment; when Judah would rebel against the As- 
syrian yoke, urging the folly of trusting in help from 
impotent Egypt; but when Jerusalem was actually 
threatened by the Assyrian army, the one fearless 



6o ADVANCED COURSE OF LESSONS 

and confident counselor of the kin^i^. Like Amos and 
Hosea, Isaiah taught that worship without righteous 
conduct towards one's fellow men was hateful to 
Jehovah. Like them, he foretold the divine judgment 
upon the unrighteous and apostate people, but he 
emphasized the thought of a righteous remnant within 
the nation which should be spared to spring up anew. 
With Amos he had grasped the thought of a God who 
ruled among the nations and directed their affairs to 
accomplish his will. To the conception of Jehovah 
as righteous and loving, which Amos and Hosea had 
taught, he added the thought of his ineffable holiness, 
his exaltation above all that is human. With a cath- 
olicity of spirit and breadth of view that far surpassed 
even Hosea, he foresaw the day when nations that 
raged against Israel and despised her God should 
unite in peace, through the worship of that God. 

Isaiah 1-39 is made up, in part, of nar- 
ratives about Isaiah's work; in part, of 
addresses and sermons or fragments of addresses; in 
part, of poems and essays. 

In literary power the writings of Isaiah are hardly 
excelled. His wealth of figurative language be- 
comes at times almost oppressive to 

^, ... the Occidental reader, and yet it never 

Characteristics ^ n^t 

degenerates into mere adornment. I he 

figures, whether from nature's beauty or human 
activities, ever enforce the burning truth that the 
prophet would drive homic. His fervid imagination 
pictures the Assyrian host as some great giant ad- 
vancing along the crest of the hills toward Jerusa- 
lem, till he stands full in view of the sacred city, with 



ADVANCED COURSE OF LESSONS OI 

outstretched, threatening arm, only to be struck 
down by Jehovah, as the woodman fells the cedar of 
Lebanon. Again, Assyria is a river torrent swollen 
until it overflows all its banks and sweeps onward 
into Judah. In Isaiah's pages one hears the roaring 
of the sea, the rushing of mighty waters, the fierce 
crackling of the flames that destroy the forest ; one 
sees the ship laboring in the driving storm; or, again, 
one rests with the exhausted traveler under the 
shadow of a great rock in a weary land, or finds hope 
in the contemplation of all nature in peace and hap- 
piness. Isaiah combines compact, forcible utterance 
with splendidly rounded periods. By sharp antith- 
esis or homely proverb, when need occurs, he can 
transfix the dullest listener. With song or parable 
he gains the thought of the thoughtless. Every re- 
source of the teacher, orator and poet is his. No 
other prophet of all that gifted company has his 
power of imagination and expression. 

Of the man himself we may gather some knowl- 
edge in the book. His home was in Jerusalem; he 
was, perhaps, of noble birth, and appears 
repeatedly as counselor of kings as well 
as of people. Becoming conscious of his divine call 
the year that King Uzziah died, he continued his 
prophetic ministry for more than a generation, at-, 
taining his greatest renown in the reign of L'zziah's 
third successor, Hezekiah. He was married and had 
two sons to whom he gave symbolic names, so that 
the}^ became signs to the people of his teachings. At 
times he w^ould himself become a symbol, as when he 
went about the streets for three years in captive garb 



62 ADVANCED COURSE OF LESSONS 

to enforce his teaching: of the hopelessness of rebelHon 
from Assyria. 

IT. Analysis of Lesson 

1. Judah involved with Assyria. — 2 Kings 15: 32 — 20. 

2. Prophecies of Isaiah. — Isaiah 1-35. 

3. Historical Appendix — Sennacherib's invasion; Hezekiah's 
sickness; embassy from Babylon. — Isaiah 36-39. 

III. Selected Home Readings 

Righteousness versus worship. (Is. 1.) 

The barren vineyard. (Is. 5: 1-7.) 

Isaiah's call. (Is. 6.) 

Isaiah and Ahaz. (Is. 7: 1-9.) 

Doom of Assyria. (Is. 10: 5-34; 14: 24-27; 17: 12-14.) 

Israel a blessing in the midst of the earth. (Is. 19* 19-25.) 

The righteous king. (Is. 32: 1-8.) 

IV. Special Points to re Noted 

The reigns during which Isaiah ministered; the great crises 
during his ministry; lack of order in arrangement of Isaiah 
1-35; Isaiah's attitude toward foreign alliances, with Assyria, 
with Egypt; his teaching as to the worth of worship without 
righteousness ; his doctrine of a remnant ; his conception of the 
movements of nations; the element which he adds to the pro- 
phetic conception of God ; his outlook for the future ; miscellane- 
ous character of the matter of Isaiah; elements of literary power; 
facts of Isaiah's life; threefold division of the lesson. 

V. Points for Review in Class 

Subject of lesson; portion of Bible included; portion of history 
included; analysis of lesson; stirring political events during 
Isaiah's ministry: order of Isaiah 1-35; Isaiah's policy in 
regard to foreign alliances; worship versus righteous conduct 
toward men; the remnant; Jehovah and the nations; Isaiah's 
conception of God; his expectation for the future; variety of 
material in the book of Isaiah' use of figurative language; power 



ADVANCED COURSE OF LESSONS 6;^ 

of imagination ; other elements of power in Isaiah's writings and 
teaching; principal events of Isaiah's life. 

VI. Topics for Discussion 

To be assigned to individuals for report or made the subject of in- 
formal discussion in class. 

1 . What does the New Testament add to the idea of God given 
in Amos, Hosea and Isaiah? 

2. The attitude of Isaiah and Elijah toward foreign alliances, 
and the reasons for it. 

3. Psychological order of the successive steps in Isaiah's call 
(ch. 6) and its universal applicability. 

4. The vision of God at the opening of great careers in the 
Biblical records. 



64 ADVANCED COURSE OF LESSONS 

Lesson XVI 
Internal Peril — Micah ; 2 Kings 2 1 

Reference Literature. — Robertson, Old Testament and its Contents; 
Bennett and Adeney, Biblical Introduction; Driver, Literature of Old 
Testament; Expositor's Bible, Book of the Twelve Prophets; Farrar, 
Minor Prophets; Cornill, Prophets of Israel; Sanders and Kent. Mes- 
sages of the Earlier Prophets; Hastings' Bible Dictionary; Encyclo- 
paedia Britannica. 

I. The Biblical Material 
The Biblical material of the present lesson illus- 
trates the destructive forces within the nation itself. 
Isaiah attacked existing abuses with great 
boldness, but occupied himself largely with 
the affairs of the government. Micah speaks from 
the standpoint of the peasants, among whom he 
dwells and who feel most keenly the abuses arising 
from the greed and dishonesty of the ruling classes. 
These abuses are vividly presented in the opening 
chapters of the book, and, on their account, judgment 
is pronounced upon Samaria and Jerusalem. The 
central part of the book pictures future deliverance, 
while the final section is a dramatic presentation of 
Jehovah's plea against Israel, in which the relative 
valuelessness of sacrifice, when compared with right 
conduct, is more forcibly presented than in any 
earlier prophet, and the internal corruption of the 
nation is most vigorously attacked. The prophecy 
begins within the earlier years of Isaiah's ministry, 
but the last two chapters seem at least as late as the 
sinful reign of Manasseh. The long reign of this 
most unworthy son of Hezekiah is described in 2 



ADVANCED COURSE OF LESSONS 65 

Kings 21, where it appears that under him there was 
a terrible reaction from the partial reforms of Hezekiah, 
which led to the complete dominance of idolatrous 
forms of worship. This always meant for Israel the 
unrestrained presence of the most corrupting vices of 
heathendom. The graven image of the licentious god- 
dess Asherah was even set up in Jehovah's temple itself. 
Manasseh's son Amon proved worthy of the evil omen 
implied in his name, the same as that of an Egyptian 
deity. He walked in his father's way for the brief 
years granted him before his assassination. 

The Book of Micah is the fourth and last member 
of the splendid group of prophecies which belong to 

^, the eighth centurv B.C. — Amos and Ho- 

Character . ^t 1 x -. t • 1 ^ ^r- ^ 

sea m Northern Israel; Isaiah and Micah 

in Judah. In a measure, Micah is the counterpart 
of Amos. The herdman of Tekoa attacked with 
scathing denunciations the abuses of wealth and 
power in Northern Israel, teaching that a right- 
eous God must punish false and inhuman conduct. 
Micah, the peasant prophet from the border hills of 
Philistia, with equal sternness, pronounced judgment 
upon the same sins in Southern Israel as well as in 
Samaria. The central portion of the book contains 
Messianic hopes, so prominent, also, in the book of 
Isaiah. In the closing section the teachings of Amos, 
Hosea and Isaiah are wrought into a perfect whole 
in Jehovah's supreme demand to do justly, to love 
mercy and to walk humbly with God. Here speaks 
Amos' God of justice, Hosea's God of love and 
Isaiah's God high and lifted up, before whom the 
shining ones veil their faces. 



66 ADVANCED COURSE OF LESSONS 

In terse vigor of utterance and vivid picturing, 
and in the majestic presentation of Jehovah coming 
to judgment, Micah is hardly inferior 
^, . . ^ to the greatest of the prophets; yet, 

with the exception of the last two 
chapters, the book seems to fall a little short of the 
especial literary excellence of each of its three pred- 
ecessors. It lacks the logical order and balance of 
Amos, the delicacy of touch and insight that char- 
acterized Hosea, and the supreme literary power of 
Isaiah. In the closing sections, however, there is 
great artistic finish combined with power. The 
dramatic picture of Jehovah pleading his cause 
against his unfaithful people, with the silent moun- 
tains as listening judges, reminding them with tender 
sorrow of his past mercy, affords a setting worthy 
of the supreme demand to which it leads. 

The Book of Micah gives less of biographical sug- 
gestion than Amos, Hosea or Isaiah. We may gather, 

. , , . however, that this prophet was a 
Authorship ^ ' , . , , 

younger contemporary of Isaiah, who 

dwelt in a border town of Judah adjoining Philistia. 

From the reference in Jeremiah 26: lyf., it appears 

that a hundred years later the deep impression of his 

influence upon King Hezekiah rem.ained in the minds 

of men. 

II. Analysis of Lesson 

1. Prophecy of Micah. 

(a) Doom of Samaria and Jerusalem. — Micah 1—3. 

(b) Hope for the future. — Micah 4, 5. 

(c) Jehovah and Israel in controversy. — Micah 6, 7. 

2. Evil Reigns of Manasseh and Amon. — 2 Kings 21. 



ADVANCED COURSE OF LESSONS 67 



III. Selected Home' Readings 

Cruel rapacity. (Micah 2: i-ii.) 

Rulers, prophets, priests corrupt. (Micah 3.) 

The latter days. (Micah 4.) 

Jehovah's controversy. (Micah 6 — 7: 6.) 

Reigns of Manasseh and Amon. (2 Kings 1.) 



IV. Specl\l Points to be Xoted 

Isaiah's attack upon social abuses; the position of Micah in 
regard to existing conditions ; the outlook for the future presented 
in the central part of the book; the attack in the latter part of 
the book; probable background of the closing chapters; charac- 
ter of Manasseh's reign; of Anion's reign. 

The group of eighth century prophets; their division between 
north and south; parallel between Amos and Micah; the combi- 
nation of teachings in the latter part of Micah ; comparative liter- 
ary merits of the eighth century prophets; the dramatic power 
of the closing chapters of Micah; facts as to Micah himself. 



V. Points for Review in Class 

Subject of lesson; portion of Bible included; portion of history 
included ; principal divisions of the lesson ; subdivisions of Micah ; 
the constant internal peril as seen in Isaiah and Micah; the pecu- 
liar point of view of Micah as compared with Isaiah; the classes 
chiefly attacked by Micah ; the theme of the central part of the 
book; of the closing section; period when Micah's prophecy opens; 
earliest probable date for the closing chapters; religious and 
moral conditions of the reigns of Manasseh and Amon. 

Names of the eighth century prophets of the north ; of the south ; 
Micah compared with Amos ; the supreme truths from Amos, 
Hosea and Isaiah combined in Micah 6; literary merits of 
Micah's style ; his literary gifts compared with those of his pred- 
ecessors; artistic qualities of the dramatic section; time and 
place of the prophet's life; his influence as a reformer. 



68 ADVANCED COURSE OF LESSONS 



VI. Topics for Discussion 

To be assigned to individuals for report or made the subject of in- 
formal discussion in class. 

1. The revelation of God's character given by the prophets of 
the eighth century. 

2. The prophets of the eighth century as teachers of morals. 

3. The prophets of the eighth century as makers of literature. 

4. Monopolistic tendency in Micah's day. 



ADVANCED COURSE OF LESSONS 69 



Lesson XVII 

Internal Reform — Zephaniah, 2 Kings 22 — 23:30; 
Deuteronomy 

Reference Literature . — Bennett and Adeney, Biblical Introduction! 
Driver, Literature of Old Testament; Robertson. Old Testament and its 
Contents ; Driver, Deuteronomy in International Critical Commentary ; 
Expositor's Bible, Book of the Twelve; Farrar, Minor Prophets; Mc- 
Fadyen, Messages of the Historians; Sanders and Kent, Messages of the 
Earlier Prophets; Hastings' Bible Dictionary; Encyclopaedia Britannica. 

I. The Biblical Material 

The prophecy of Zephaniah seems to belong to 
the early years of Josiah, before the great reform 
instituted in the eighteenth year of his 
reign (621 B.C.)- The corrupt worship and 
social injustice of the evil days of Manasseh and 
Amon are still prevalent. In view of these condi- 
tions Jehovah's judgment is threatened and repent- 
ance is urged. The day of the Lord, a day of dark- 
•ness and gloom, a da}^ of the trum^pet and alarm, is 
the theme of Zephaniah. After judgment the faith- 
ful who are preserved shall dwell with Jehovah in 
their midst. 

It was perhaps the influence of such prophets as 
Zephaniah and Jeremiah that led to the great reform 
under Josiah, whose reign fills the record in 2 Kings 
22 — 23: 30. In the eighteenth year after his acces- 
sion Josiah undertook the repair of the neglected 
temple. The book of the law found there was read 
before the king, and undfer its guidance, with the 
ratification of the people, he undertook a sweeping 



70 ADVANCED COURSE OF LESSONS 

reform of religion. He put down the idolatrous 
priests, burned the Asherah that was in the temple, 
destroyed the high places where worship had been 
performed, swept away the traces of the heathen 
practises that had filled Judah, and made the temple, 
for the first time, the one center of formal worship 
for the entire people. Thirteen years later, Josiah 
fell in battle and was succeeded by his son Jehoahaz. 
The reforms of Josiah as recorded in Kings were 
carried forward in accordance with the enactment 
of the book of Deuteronomy. Never before had the 
requirement of this book, that worship sliould be 
centralized in the temple of Solomon, been effective 
in the life of Israel. Even under the best of Josiah's 
predecessors the high places remained. Any de- 
struction of them in the earlier reforms of Hezekiah 
must have been very incomplete, if Josiah found 
before Jerusalem high places which Solomon had 
built for Ashtoreth, the abomination of the Zidoni- 
ans, and for Chemosh, and for Milcom. 

The code of Deuteronomy is not occupied to any 
extent with minute directions for worship, but rather 
contains laws to mold the daily life of the Israelites 
upon principles of justice and mercy toward man and 
beast. The earlier laws of Exodus, especially the 
decalogue and the " Book of the Covenant " (Ex. 
20-23), form the foundation of the code in Deu- 
teronomy. Nearly the whole matter of Exodus 20- 
23 is included, sometimes even with verbal coinci- 
dence. These old enactments are expanded, ex- 
plained and applied to special cases or, sometimes, 
modified. The additional laws peculiar to Deuter- 



ADVANCED COURSE OF LESSONS 7 1 

onomy apply chiefly to a more advanced state of 
society than that provided for in the laws of Exodus; 
as the law for the protection of a neighbor's vine- 
yard, or for battlements on the roof of a house. Per- 
haps the two most characteristic features of the laws 
of Deuteronomy are the central sanctuary, designed 
to destroy the local places of worship, where heathen 
abuses so easily crept in, and the humanitarian spirit 
extending even to mercy toward slaves and beasts 
of burden. The religious spirit of the book is of the 
deepest. Devotion and gratitude to Jehovah for 
undeserved privileges is to be the animating prin- 
ciple of the life of the people. Scholars to-day com.- 
monly regard the book as a development of the older 
law under the influence of the great prophetic 
enlightenment of the eighth century. 

The varied Biblical material considered in the 
present lesson all has relation to the reform of Josiah. 
Zephaniah shows the renewal of the pro- 
phetic outcry against corrupt worship 
and corrupt morals which had been temporarily 
silenced in the ' bloody persecutions of Manasseh. 
The narrative in Kings records the great reform in 
worship that was carried out in accordance with the 
requirements of the Deuteronomic code, which now 
became for the first time the effective law of the na- 
tion. Prophecy, history and law book unite in the 
great lessons of absolute loyalty to Jehovah and 
humanity toward all earthly creatures, that make the 
age of Josiah glorious in the history of the world. 

The book of Zephaniah has much of those qualities 
of vivid and picturesque utterance that are the liter- 



72 ADVANCED COURSE OF LESSONS 

ary glory of Hebrew prophecy. 

^, . . Tt lacks, however, the full stren2:th, 

Characteristics , ' , « . 

force and beauty of its greatest 

predecessors. Still, hardly anything can be finer 
than the song of triumphant faith near the end. 
Deuteronomy is a complex yet orderly literary whole, 
in the form of four addresses interspersed with brief 
historical statem.ents and concluding with appended 
matter, such as the so-called Song and Blessing of 
Moses. Omitting the legal code, which concludes 
the second address, the book shows in its mingled 
narrative, appeal, denunciation and words of fare- 
well great rhetorical power. It has been described 
as '' oratory arranged to produce all the effect of 
drama." 

II. Analysis of Lesson 

1. Prophetic Warning and Promises in the Early Years of 
Josiah. — Zephaniah. 

2. Reform of Josiah. — 2 Kings 22 — 28:30. 

3. The Law of the Reform. 

— Deuteronomy (law proper, chs. 12-26). 

III. Selected Home Readings 

Denunciation. (Zephaniah 1: 2-18.) 

Promises. (Zephaniah 3: 11-20.) 

The reform. (2 Kings 23: 4-20.) 

The place of sacrifice. (Deuteronomy 12: 1-28.) 

Loyalty to Jehovah. (Deuteronomy 4: 7-24; 6: 1-15.) 

IV. Special Points to re Noted 

Date of Zephaniah's work; religious and social conditions of 
his time; substance of his message; possible relation of Zephaniah 
to the reform of Josiah ; the successive steps that led up to Josiah's 
sweeping reform; the nature of the reform; length of Josiah's 



ADVANCED COURSE OF LESSONS 73 

reign after the reform; relation of Deuteronomy to Josiah's 
reform ; spirit of the Deuteronomic law ; relation of Deuteronomy 
to the earlier law codes in Exodus; danger in local sanctuaries; 
humanitarian spirit in Deuteronomy; the religious teaching of 
Deuteronomy; reasons for studying Deuteronomy in connection 
with Josiah's reform; the true glory of Josiah's reign; literary 
qualities of Zephaniah; literary structure of Deuteronomy. 

V. Points for Review in Class 

Subject of lesson; portions of Bible included; period of history 
included; position of Zephaniah in this period; date of Josiah's 
reform ; years of his reign in which it occurred ; religious and social 
conditions in the early years of Josiah; Zephaniah's message in 
the face of these conditions; Zephaniah's outlook for the future; 
possible influences brought to bear upon Josiah; the first steps 
toward reform; the actual reform measures; the law code influen- 
cing Josiah's reform; previous disagreement of religious practice 
with the requirement of this code ; general nature of the Deuter- 
onomic code ; relation between the laws of Exodus and of Deuter- 
onomy; nature of additional laws in Deuteronomy; extent of 
humanitarian spirit in Deuteronomy; religious motives empha- 
sized in the book : relation of each part of the Biblical material 
to the subject of the lesson; the finest passage in Zephaniah; 
general structure of Deuteronomy. 

VT. Topics for Discussion 

To be assigned to individuals for report or made the subject of in- 
formal discussion in class, 

1. The true relation between Deuteronomy and the great 
prophetic movement of the eighth century in teachings as to 
God, worship and morals. 

2. Possibilities and limits of popular reform by authority of 
government. 



74 ADVANCED COURSE OF LESSONS 



Lesson XVIII 

The Babylonian Peril — Nahum, 2 Kings 23:31 — 
24:7; Habakkuk 

Reference Literature. — Bennett and Adeney, Biblical Introduction; 
Driver, Literature of Old Testament; Robertson, Old Testament and its 
Contents; Expositor's Bible, Book of the Twelve; Farrar, Minor Prophets; 
Sanders and Kent, Messages of the Earlier Prophets; Hastings' Bible 
Dictionary ; Encyclopaedia Britannica. 

I. The Biblical Material 

The brief prophecy of Nahum has one theme — the 
coming downfall of Nineveh, capital of Assyria. 
It was probably written during the latter 
part of Josiah's reign. Nineveh was over- 
thrown by the combined power of the Medes and 
Babylonians about the year 607 B.C. Egypt strove 
for supremacy against Babylon for a short time, but 
was utterly routed, and the Medes and Babylonians 
became heirs to Assyria's dominions and ambitions. 
The passage from Kings included in the present 
lesson records the suzerainty of Egypt in Palestine 
after the death of Josiah, followed by the submis- 
sion of King Jehoiakim to the victorious Nebuchad- 
nezzar of Babylon. Foolish rebellion gave occasion 
for the speedy chastisement of Judah by the Baby- 
lonians and their vassals. The prophecy of Habakkuk 
belongs to the time when the Babylonian power is 
first seen to be the scourge designed for the punish- 
ment of Judah's sins. At the opening of the book, 
the prophet cries out against the sins of his people 
and then he sees that the Babylonians are coming 



ADVANCED COURSE OF LESSONS 75 

to punish. Question immediately arises in his mind 
as to how the just God can use such a wicked in- 
strument. Waiting for light, he comes at length to 
the conclusion that the Babylonians in turn shall pay 
the penalty of their sin, and thus justice will be vin- 
dicated. The book closes with an ode describing the 
coming of Jehovah to judgment on the foes of his 
people. 

The book of Nahum is quite different from, the 
preceding writings of the prophets. They pronounce 
Character J^^§"^^^^' it is true, upon various ene- 
mies of Israel, but they speak with the 
reformation of their own people constantly in mind. 
Nahum is simply a decree of divine judgment upon 
bloodthirsty Assyria , which has conquered and ruled 
w4th indescribable cruelty, but is now near the end 
of its career. Habakkuk, on the other hand, resem- 
bles the earlier prophets in threatening the divine 
vengeance upon the sins of the chosen people. He is, 
however, confronted with a problem which they had 
not discussed. They had predicted that Jehovah 
would bring a foreign foe to punish, but Habakkuk 
is confounded by the puzzle of a divine government 
that can use a worse nation to punish a better. The 
book thus throws an interesting light on the inner 
struggles through which the prophet slowly arrives 
at new and broader truth. 

As bits of literature both books are of great inter- 
est. The tiny prophecy of Nahum contains some of 
the most vivid word picturing im- 

^, ^ r^. aginable. The noise and confusion 
Characteristics 

of the siege and fall of Nineveh are 



76 ADVANCED COURSE OF LESSONS 

painted in colors that can never fade. As v^e 
read, we hear the crashing of the chariots in the 
streets of the doomed city ; we see the blood-stained 
shields of valiant men and the shaking forest of 
spears, the defenders stumbling over the dead as 
they struggle forward to meet the onslaught, while 
the besiegers scale the wall. Next, the prophet 
breaks out in a wild paean of triumph over the devas- 
tation of this lion's den. Less terrible is the proph- 
ecy of Habakkuk, yet most intense in its outcry to 
Jehovah for light and for justice, and most human in 
its picture of the prophet waiting in faith for the 
mystery of the divine purpose to be solved. The 
poem of the third chapter of Habakkuk ranks with 
the noblest and freest of the splendid lyric odes of 
ancient Israel. A, bolder piece of imaginative writ- 
ing can hardly be found than this picture of all nature 
brought to sudden pause or uttering itself in majestic 
praise at the approach of Jehovah. 

II. Analysis of Lesson 

1. The Doom of Nineveh. — Nahum. 

2. The Rise of Babylon — 2 Kings 23: 31 — 24: 7. 

3. Babylon, Jehovah's Instrument for Punishing the Sins of 
Israel. — Habakkuk. 

III. Selected Home Readings 

The fall of Nineveh. (Nahum 2—3: 4-) 
Rule of Egypt and Babylon over Judah. 

(2 Kings 23: 31 — 24: 7.) 

The Babylonian scourge. (Habakkuk 1.) 

The prophet on his watch-tower. (Habakkuk 2.) 

Prayer of Habakkuk, an ode. (Habakkuk 3.) 



ADVANCED COURSE OF LESSONS 77 

IV. Special Points to be Noted 

Structure of Nahum, chapter 1 a song describing in general terms 
Jehovah's coming to destroy the enemies of his people ; chapters 
2, 3 description of the coming siege and sack of Nineveh; cir- 
cumstances that led to the prophecy of Nahum ; date of Nineveh's 
fall; the struggle for Nineveh's dominions and its relation to 
Judah; the time of Habakkuk's prophecy; course of thought in 
chapters 1, 2 of Habakkuk; subject of chapter 3; differences 
between Nahum and preceding prophets; resemblance between 
Habakkuk and the earlier prophets ; the problem of this prophet ; 
literary characteristics of each book; natural divisions of the 
lesson. 

V. Points for Review in Class 

Subject of lesson; portions of Bible included; period of history 
included ; outline of prophecy of Nahum ; time of Nahum ; fall of 
Nineveh; the power that first ruled Judah after Josiah's death; 
the next ruler of Judah; Babylon's excuse for attacking Judah; 
occasion of Habakkuk's prophecy; outline of Habakkuk; points 
in which the book of Nahum differs from its predecessors ; resem- 
blance of Habakkuk to the earlier prophets ; Habakkuk's prob- 
lem and its answer; artistic structure of Nahum; elements of 
literary strength in Nahum; Habakkuk compared with Nahum; 
beauty of the closing ode of Habakkuk. 

VI. Topics for Discussion 

To be assigned to individuals for report or made the subject of in- 
formal discussion in class. 

1. The nature of prophetic inspiration — was it mechanically 
perfect and complete? 

2. Is the prophetic denunciation of foes defensible according 
to Christian standards, or is it a phase of a more rudimentary 
stage of religion? 

3. Does Habakkuk's answer solve the mysteries of the divine 
purpose in the rise and fall of nations ? 



7 8 ADVANCED COURSE OF LESSONS 

Lesson XIX 
The Fall of Judah — 2 Kings 24 — 25 : 26 ; Jeremiah 

Reference Literature. — Bennett and Adeney, Biblical Introduction; 
Driver, Literature of Old Testament; Robertson, Old Testament and 
its Contents; Expositor's Bible, Jeremiah; Cheyne, Jeremiah, His Life 
and Times; Cornill, Prophets of Israel; Sanders and Kent, Messages 
of the Earlier Prophets; Hastings' Bible Dictionary; Encyclopaedia 
Britannica. 

I. The Biblical Material 

The narrative in Kings records the result of re- 
peated rebelHon against Babylon. After the first 
revolt Nebuchadnezzar besieged Jerusalem, 
and on the surrender of King Jehoiachin, 
carried away the king and court with the chief 
citizens and skilled artisans, appointing the king's 
uncle as vassal ruler of Judah (597 b.c). A few 
years later this new ruler undertook to throw off the 
Babylonian yoke, and after a long siege Jerusalem 
was captured. A large part of the remainder of the 
people were transported to Babylon, and the city 
was razed to the ground (586 B.C.). The remnants 
left in Palestine soon fled in terror to Egypt, because 
of the treacherous assassination of the governor 
appointed over them by the Babylonians. 

The book of Jeremiah contains the messages of 
that prophet from his call in the thirteenth year of 
Josiah's reign (626 r.c.) until the flight into Eg3^pt 
after the destruction of Jerusalem, together w^ith an 
unusually large amount of biographical material. 
Only a small part of the prophecy can be placed with 
probability within the reign of Josiah. A large part 



ADVANCED COURSE OF LESSONS 79 

of it finds its natural setting in the circumstances of 
the following years, when the party that favored an 
alliance with Egypt was dominant and Jeremiah 
was vainly striving to prevent the folly of hostility 
toward the power of BabAaon. 

The book of Jeremiah is in part like Hosea, a biog- 
raphy of the heart life of the prophet, who again and 
^1- X again reveals the inner struggles through 
which he passes in the accomplishment 
of his difficult task. In Isaiah one feels the majesty 
of splendid activity with hardly a glimpse of the 
heart, nerving itself for the outer strife. In Jere- 
miah one feels the pathos of a deep, tender nature 
forcing itself to a harsh and lonely task. In the 
character of its teaching the book of Jeremiah em- 
bodies a large part of the rich truths concerning God, 
religion and social morality that have been revealed 
by preceding prophets. In one respect, however, 
this prophet was forced to combat vigorously an 
application that the people made of one of Isaiah's 
teachings. That great prophet, in the face of over- 
whelming danger from Assyria, had encouraged the 
people with the assurance that the city of Jerusalem 
would not be taken. This prediction had been mar- 
velously fulfilled, and a century later, in Jeremiah's 
day, the people made a superstitious application of 
this idea of the inviolability of Zion, and believed 
that even yet, whatever folly and sin they might 
commit, their city could not be captured. Jeremiah 
ever grasped the deep, living truth that he taught in 
his parable of the potter, the truth that prediction 
was conditional and that promise might be forfeited. 



8o ADVANCED COURSE OF LESSONS 

In his teaching as to idolatry, Jeremiah was more 
specific and varied than his predecessors because of 
the great influx of new forms of worship during the 
era of Manasseh. In Jeremiah's day there were 
those who could excuse themselves from sin on the 
ground that they had not 3delded to the seductions 
of the ancient Baal worship, though they had 
engaged in the more recently introduced worship of 
the heavenly bodies. 

It would seem, perhaps, that while Jeremiah sym- 
pathized with the great work of Josiah, he soon felt 
the danger to living religion concealed in a reform 
that was based upon an organized code of law. In 
a sense, deeper and more vital than through any 
possible prediction of detailed outer events in the 
life of Jesus, Jeremiah became a prophet of the gos- 
pel when he foresaw a religion that was higher than 
any following of written law taught by human lips, 
even God's will written in the hearts of those who 
know Jehovah. With this realized, the people would 
become a nation of prophets able to receive new and 
higher truths. A reform that is based upon mere 
outer authority must remain an outer garment easily 
laid aside; a religion that ever goes back to a com- 
pleted law, though that law embody the lofty mo- 
rality and religious spirit of Deuteronomy, may soon 
become cold and deadening. We reach a moment 
of deepest insight, a moment when the Old Testa- 
ment revelation comes to a culmination, when we 
listen to the voice of Jeremiah while the sacred city, 
the holy temple, the chosen nation, all outward sym- 
bols of Jehovah, are falling to ruin, and hear the clear 



ADVANCED COURSE OF LESSONS 8 1 

voice of faith that rings out: '' Behold, the days come, 
saith Jehovah, that I will make a new covenant with 
the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah. . . . 
This is the covenant that I will make ... I will put 
my law in their inward parts, and in their heart will 
I write it . . . and they shall teach no more ever}^ 
man his neighbor, and every man his brother, say- 
ing, Know Jehovah; for they shall all know me, from 
the least of them unto the greatest of them " (ch. 31 : 

31-34).^ 

The literary history of the book of Jeremiah is in 

part recorded within the book itself. In chapter 36:2 

we learn that Jeremiah dictated the 

^, ^ /,. oracles of the first twenty-two years 
Characteristics . 

of his preaching, in the reign of Je- 

hoiakim. This scroll being contemptuously destroyed 
by the king, the prophet wrote again, adding many 
like words. Later oracles must have been added at 
a subsequent editing, and finally the collection com- 
pleted with narratives of various events in Jeremiah's 
life. In a peculiar degree the writing of Jeremiah 
touches the heart. The fate of the prophet who 
is forced to see the actual fall of his nation fol- 
lowing with such terrible haste upon the noble 
reign of Josiah, and who in the midst of destruc- 
tion is forced to take a stand that alienates him 
utterly from human sympathy, that stigmatizes him 
as a traitor, even with his own kindred, is one of 
the most tragic in history. When such a one is no 
stem Amos or majestic Isaiah, but a man of almost 
feminine sensibilities and longing for sympathy, the 
tragedy is complete. In a marvelous degree the 



82 ADVANCED COURSE OF LESSONS 

autobiographical character of much of Jeremiah's 
book admits us to the very heart of this tragedy. 
It is, however, an utterly wrong conception that 
pictures this prophet as always weeping. He can 
and does weep, but a truer portrayal would combine 
with the marks of suffering those of intense, resource- 
ful activity and unquenchable courage. The popu- 
lar picture of Jeremiah is pathetic ; the true picture 
is tragic. 

We know much of the outer history of Jeremiah 
as well as the inner nature. Belonging by birth to 
a family of priests in the little village 
of Anathoth, three miles north of Jeru- 
salem, the scene of his ministry was chiefly Jerusalem 
and Judaia. By word and by symbolic teach- 
ing, in season and out of season, he taught. He 
spoke at the temple gate ; he preached throughout 
the cities of Judah; burying a girdle in a distant 
land, dashing an earthen vessel to pieces, or wearing 
a yoke upon his neck, he sought to rouse the people 
to a sense of their coming doom. The men of his 
town plotted against his life ; the rulers of his people 
locked his feet in the public stocks, lowered him into 
an empty cistern for a dungeon, and there left him 
to starve, sinking in the mire at its bottom. Through 
all, though he might complain bitterly of his fate, 
he continued to preach his truths of justice, judgment 
and reformation. At last, after the fall of Jerusalem, 
he was carried by the fleeing remnant to Egypt, 
where we catch a glimpse of his still faithful preach- 
ing. 



ADVANCED COURSE OF LESSONS S^ 

II. Analysis of Lesson 

1. Fall of Judah. — 2 Kings 24—25: 26. 

2. The Prophet of the Final Doom. — Jeremiah. 

III. Selected Home Readings 

The first captivity. (2 Kings 24: 8-17.) 

The destruction of Jerusalem. (2 Kings 25: 1-13.) 

Jeremiah's call. (Jeremiah 1.) 

Jeremiah's preaching at the temple gate. (Jeremiah 7.) 

A lesson from the potter. (Jeremiah 18: 1-12.) 

The fearless preacher of truth. (Jeremiah 26: 8-24.) 

IV. Special Points to be Noted 

The first and second captivities of Judah, eleven years apart; 
the long period of Jeremiah's ministry; the national policy of 
Jeremiah after Josiah's death; the general character of the con- 
tents of Jeremiah* the contrast between Jeremiah and Isaiah; 
relation of Jeremiah's teaching to the preceding prophets, 
agreement and dift'erences, additional truths; composition of the 
book ; the appeal of the book to the heart ; error in the popular 
picture of Jeremiah; family and native place; scene of ministry; 
methods of teaching; persecutions and sufferings; last days. 

V. Points for Review in Class 

Subject of lesson; portion of Bible included; portion of history 
included; result of repeated rebellion from Babylon; classes of 
citizens carried away in the first captivity ; fate of Jerusalem : fter 
the final rebellion ; period of history during which Jeremiah minis- 
tered; probable period of the larger part of Jeremiah's recorded 
teaching; Jeremiah's policy for the nation; general character of 
the contents of Jeremiah; resemblance to Hosea; contrast with 
Isaiah; Jeremiah's dependence upon his predecessors; his inde- 
pendence; his important new truths; danger of legalism in 
religion; stages in the composition of the book of Jeremiah; the 
book as literature; an erroneous conception of the man; Jere- 



84 ADVANCED COURSE OF LESSONS 

miah's position by birth; the scenes of his ministry; his methods 
of work; the bitter experiences of his Ufe; the last gHmpse of 
Jeremiah. 

VI. Topics for Discussion 

To be assigned to individuals for report, or made the subject of in- 
formal discussion in class. 

1. Is the view suggested in the lesson that Jeremiah 31 : 31-34 
approaches more nearly to the gospel height than any other Old 
Testament passage correct? If not, what is the culmination of 
Old Testament revelation? 

2. The life of Jeremiah and the life of Jesus — can the life of 
Jeremiah be styled in any sense a prototype of Jesus ? 

3. The personality of Jeremiah compared with Isaiah, Amos 
and Hosea. 



ADVANCED COURSE OF LESSONS 85 

FOURTH PERIOD — THE CAPTIVITY 

Lesson XX 

Opening Years of Exile — Lamentations, Obadiah, 
Ezekiel 

Reference Literature. — Robertson, Old Testament and its Contents; 
Bennett and Adeney, Biblical Introduction; Driver, Literature of Old 
'Testament; Expositor's Bible, Book of the Twelve; Farrar, Minor 
Prophets; Cambridge Bible, Ezekiel; Sanders and Kent, Messages of 
the Later Prophets; Hastings' Bible Dictionary; Encyclopaedia Bri- 
tannica. 

I. The Biblical Material 
With the opening of the exile there conies a break 
in the historical narratives of the Old Testament. 
The great series, Genesis to 2 Kings, ends 
at this point, with the exception of a brief 
notice of the kindness shown to Jehoiachin in the 
thirty-seventh year of the captivity. The other 
series. Chronicles to Nehemiah, leaves out this period 
altogether. It was not, however, a period of literary 
inaction among the Jews. The book of Lamenta- 
tions, a collection of five elegies, expresses in artistic 
form sorrow over the wretched condition of Jerusa- 
lem. The tiny prophecy of Obadiah contains a 
fierce denunciation of Edom for her violence to Jacob 
in the day that strangers carried away his substance 
and foreigners entered his gates. This prophecy 
probably arose from Edom's readiness to share in 
the sack of Jerusalem in 586 b.c. In addition to 
these brief poetic and prophetic utterances of sorrow 
and indignation occasioned by the fall of Jerusalem, 
we have the writings of the great prophet of the early 



86 ADVANCED COURSE OF LESSONS 

years of exile, Ezekiel. Ezekiel was carried captive 
with Jehoiachin in 597 b. c, and five years later began 
his active ministry which continued more than 
twenty years. During the first six years his ener- 
gies were directed largely toward destroying the 
false hopes that the people entertained of their res- 
toration to Jerusalem, and his message was one of 
doom upon the polluted city. With the destruction 
of Jerusalem in 586, however, and the beginning of 
the more complete exile, his message changed to one 
of promise for future restoration to a purified and 
more glorious Jerusalem. 

The material grouped in the present lesson on the 
opening years of exile includes thus: a little book 

^, ^ of poems all in one strain; the briefest 

Character ^ , • 1 ^. ^ ^^ 

separate prophecy m the Old testa- 
ment, which combines a denunciation upon Edom 
(like that of Nahum upon Nineveh) with the pro- 
phetic hope of a holy and triumphant Jerusalem in the 
future; the book of Ezekiel, which, like the other 
longer prophecies, contains prophetic teachings com- 
bined with some biographical material. In the care- 
ful dating of his oracles, and general orderliness of 
their arrangement, Ezekiel stands in striking con- 
trast to Isaiah and Jeremiah. In general purpose 
this prophet in Babylon and Jeremiah in Jerusalem 
stood together against the prophets who held out 
false hopes that even yet Jehovah would save his 
people. They both saw the utter corruption of 
Jerusalem, and tried to lead the people to another 
and higher trust in Jehovah, instead of such delusive 
confidence. 



ADVANCED COURSE OF LESSONS 87 

Several transitions took place in the character- 
istics of prophecy during the seventh century, which 
first become fully manifest in Ezekiel at the open- 
ing of the sixth century. In form, the message 
assumed the character of matter primarily written 
and intended for readers rather than hearers. The 
prophets of the eighth century were first of all speak- 
ers, and the written remains of their addresses were 
probably, in large measure, gathered together after 
their deaths by devoted followers. In Jeremiah we 
have seen a prophet, after long years of preaching, 
dictating his oracles to a scribe, and thus beginning 
the collection of his addresses during his life. In 
Ezekiel the character of much of the material clearly 
indicates that it must have been composed in w^ritten 
form at first. This is obviously the case in his ideal 
constitution for restored Israel (chs. 40-48). To- 
gether with this change several others went on: (i) 
The terse, direct form of speech full of rapid pictures 
and brief illustrations changed to a more elaborate 
and deliberate ' form ; and there appeared the ten- 
dency toward that symbolic style of writing in Zeph- 
aniah, and far more in Ezekiel, w^hich later developed 
into the apocalyptic literature. (2) The prophets 
continued to be earnest moralists denouncing the 
social sins of Israel, but direct, specific attacks upon 
injustice, dishonest}^ and similar sins largely dis- 
appeared. (3) The earlier prophets laid such stress 
upon right living toward men as almost to deny the 
value of formal worship. In Jeremiah's day, how- 
ever, Deuteronomy became the recognized standard 
of life, with its emphasis upon worship in the temple 



88 ADVANCED COURSE OF LESSONS 

combined with the prophetic insistence upon justice 
and mercy. Jeremiah seems to have been in sym- 
pathy with the Deuteronomic reform, though he later 
anticipated a day when the law should be written 
on the heart rather than taught by man's voice. In 
Ezekiel the old prophetic message against vice and 
cruelty is combined with the full recognition of the 
necessity of forms of worship. (4) In Jeremiah the 
conception of individual responsibility toward Je- 
hovah appears in contrast to the older idea of judg- 
ment upon the nation as a whole. In Ezekiel this 
idea is developed far more fully, and is perhaps the 
most characteristic doctrine of this prophet. The 
exiles complain that the fathers have eaten sour 
grapes and the children's teeth are set on edge — 
that they are suffering simply for the sins of their 
fathers. Ezekiel stoutly maintains that each is 
punished for his own sins. 

Viewed as pieces of literature, the books of Lam- 
entations and Ezekiel are especially interesting. 
Lamentations is written, in large part, 

^, ^ .\. in the Hebrew elegiac verse. In this, 
Characteristics ^ ^ r T 

each member of the two or more par- 
allel lines is often broken by a natural pause so that 
the latter part is shorter and gives a broken utter- 
ance that seems to sob itself out ; this can be seen 
in part in the English translation: 

All her gates are desolate, her priests sigh: 
Her virgins are afflicted, and she herself is in bitter- 
ness. 

The careful artistic structure of the first four poems 
is also seen in their alphabetic arrangement, the sue- 



ADVANCED COURSE OF LESSOXS 89 

cessive verses beginning with the twenty-two letters 
of the Hebrew alphabet in their order. (In the third 
lament, three successive lines begin with each letter.) 
Curiously, the fourth poem has just twenty-two 
verses, though they are not alphabetic. As might 
be expected in such carefully elaborated and con- 
scious art, we lose the old free power characteristic 
of Israel's greatest lyrics. Ezekiel's chief literary 
characteristics have already been suggested. An 
elaborate, painstaking presentation of detail, together 
with a profusion of strange symbolism, separates him 
widely from the literary style of Isaiah. Compare, 
for example, his complex vision of Jehovah's ap- 
proach with the splendid simplicity of Isaiah's 
inaugural vision, or note the detailed specifications 
for the new temple and the new Jerusalem irn his 
closing chapters. A most curious piece of poetic 
writing is given by Ezekiel in his dirge over Pharaoh 
and his army (32:17-32). The structure of the 
parallelism in this poem, with its augmenting re- 
frain, is highly complicated, and the picture of the 
nether world, whither the mighty nations of the 
earth have gone, makes this a primitive Inferno. 

Of the authorship of Lamentations nothing is 
known. Internal evidence seems, on the whole, 
against the ancient tradition that Jere- 
miah wrote these dirges. Of Obadiah, 
nothing is known beyond the tiny oracle. The book 
of Ezekiel gives some facts as to the life of the 
prophet. He was a priest by birth, carried away in 
the first captivity and placed among a company of 
exiles who were allowed to live in comparative free- 



90 ADVANCED COURSE OF LESSONS 

dom on the banks of one of the great canals of 
Babylonia. Here Ezekiel dwelt in his house with 
his wife, and here the elders used to come to con- 
sult him. At about the time when the last siege of 
Jerusalem began Ezekiel's wife died. His prophetic 
activity continued during a period of some sixteen 
years after the destruction of the holy city. 

II. Analysis of Lesson 

1. Dirges over the Fallen City. — Lamentations. 

2. Hostility of Neighbors at the Fall. — Obadiah. 

3. The Great Prophet of the Early Exile. — Ezekiel. 

III. Selected Home Readings 

The solitary city. (Lamentations 1.) 

Edom at the fall of Jerusalem. (Obadiah 8-14.) 

Ezekiel's call. (Ezekiel 1.) 

Symbolic teaching of the fall of Jerusalem. (Ezekiel 5.) 

Vision of idolatrous worship in the temple. (Ezekiel 8.) 

The faithless wife (compare Hosea). (Ezekiel 16.) 

Individual responsibility. (Ezekiel 18.) 

The prophet as watchman. (Ezekiel 33: 1-20.) 

IV. Special Points to be Noted 

Lack of historical narratives of the exile; the literary produc- 
tions of this period; occasion of writing the book of Lamenta- 
tions; occasion of Obadiah's prophecy; period of Ezekiel's min- 
istry; change in Ezekiel's message after the fall of Jerusalem; 
general character of Lamentations, Obadiah and Ezekiel; con- 
trast in arrangement between Ezekiel and earlier prophets ; rela- 
tion between the work of Ezekiel and Jeremiah; changes in 
prophecy during the seventh century ; the elegiac form of Lamen- 
tations; alphabetic form of these poems; Ezekiel's chief literary 
characteristics compared with Isaiah; principal facts of Ezekiel's 
life. 



ADVANCED COURSE OF LESSONS 9 1 

V. Points for Review in Class 

Subject of period ; subject of lesson ; portions of Bible included 
in lesson ; portion of history included ; the history of the exile in 
Kings and Chronicles; writings of the early years of the exile 
and the occasion of each ; the earlier work of Ezekiel ; the effort 
of his later ministry; the two kinds of material combined in 
Ezekiel ; the arrangement of the book ; Ezekiel's relation to Jere- 
miah ; the probable method of composition in the earlier prophets, 
in Jeremiah, in Ezekiel; the great change in style in Zephaniah 
and its development in Ezekiel ; the change in subject emphasized 
in their teaching; Ezekiel's most characteristic teaching; literary 
form of Lamentations; Ezekiel's striking literary characteristics; 
Ezekiel's life. 

VI. Topics for Discussion 

To be assigned to individuals for report or made the subject of in- 
formal discussion in class. 

1. The book of Obadiah considered in connection with the long 
years of hostility between Edom and Israel (see Expositor's 
Bible, Book of Twelve, Vol. II, ch. 14). 

2 . The conception of individual responsibility taught in Ezekiel. 

3. The necessity of uniting priestly and prophetic teachings 
for the preservation of Israel during the post-exilic period. 



92 ADVANCED COURSE OF LESSONS 

Lesson XXI 
Later Years of Exile — Isaiah 40-66 

Reference Literature. — Robertson, Old Testament and its Contents; 
Bennett and Adeney, Biblical Introduction; Driver, Literature of Old 
Testament; Expositor's Bible, Isaiah, Vol. II;. Driver, Life and Times 
of Isaiah; Sanders and Kent, Messages of the Later Prophets; Hast- 
ings' Bible Dictionary; Encyclopaedia Britannica. 

L The Biblical Material 

After the last dated oracle of Ezekiel (570 B.C.) 

v^e have no direct word from the exiles for some 

„. . twenty years. It would seem that 

^ . those who had such shallow confidence 

Occasion 

while Jerusalem stood, lost all hope 

with the fall of their city. Probably, too, the fate 
of those transported in 586 was far more severe than 
that of the first exiles of whom we catch glimpses 
in Ezekiel. About 550 B.C., when the complete exile 
had continued for some thirty-six years, one ap- 
peared in the world's history who quickly called into 
life the old prophetic spirit, ever ready at the ap- 
proach of a great crisis to interpret the signs of the 
times in terms of Jehovah's righteous and merciful 
purposes for his people. It was probably about the 
year 549 b. c, when Cyrus of Persia had united the 
Median dominion with his own, that the '* great 
unknown " prophet of the exile began his ministry 
of hope recorded in Isaiah 40-66.^ 

1 Probably no result of modern criticism has met with more general 
acceptance than the recognition of the fact that the original collection 
of Isaiah's prophecies ended with the historical appendix, Isaiah 36-39; 
and that the subsequent chapters were added at a much later date. 



ADVANCED COURSE OF LESSONS 93 

Israel's restoration from exile in Babylon is the 
theme of this prophecy, the keynote of which is 
sounded in the opening verses: '' Comfort ye, 
comfort ye my people, saith your God." 
In the first nine chapters the prophet's theme is 
the certainty of the coming release, dependent upon 
the power and ability of Jehovah to accomplish his 
promises. With a most satirical description of the 
human manufacture of idols, he exhibits Jehovah's 
immeasurable superiority to other gods. In the 
seven chapters that follow the prophet breaks forth 
in exultant strains at the thought of the imminent 
restoration and the future glories of Jerusalem. 
Interwoven with chapters 40-55 are the wonderful 
'* servant passages." The remainder of the book 
(56-66) contains denunciations upon Israel's sins 
and upon her enemies, together with pictures of the 
future glory of Zionand great emphasis upon Sab- 
bath-keeping. 

The material of these chapters is thus seen to be 
composed of various prophecies concerning the res- 
toration from captivity and the future of 
Jerusalem, designed in the first instance 
to rouse the hopeless captives from their lethargy 
and fit them for their destiny. Clearly the words 
are addressed to those in doubt and despair, held 
down by Babylon's power, surrounded by the splen- 
dor of her temples and gaudy ritual. In this con- 
dition they have largely lost faith in the unseen 
God, whose house has lain for years a charred ruin 
and whose people are scattered to foreign lands. 
The enlightened eye of the prophet alone sees in the 



94 ADVANCED COURSE OF LESSONS 

Opening of Cyrus' victorious career the divine plan 
of deliverance for his people who have been chas- 
tened by suffering. He seeks to rouse them with 
song of triumphant confidence, with argument de- 
signed to prove Jehovah's power and w4th satirical 
contempt for the man-made gods of Babylon. The 
"servant passages," intermingled with the other 
prophecies, present the ideal of triumph through meek- 
ness and suffering. At first the nation Israel is 
pictured as the suffering servant, but the ideal rises 
to a glorious ruler who conquers through bearing 
the sorrows of others — a conception fulfilled only in 
the life and death of Jesus. Yet this poem of the 
servant found its basis and partial interpretation 
in the experiences of the men of Israel and of her 
noble prophets. Here the moral demands of Elijah, 
Amos, Hosea and Isaiah find their culmination in a 
still higher conception of life than mere justice and 
mercy between man and man. Here we have an- 
other approach to gospel revelation which may be 
counted the culmination of Old Testament teaching 
rather than Jeremiah 31 : 31-34. 

Of the many portions in the prophets showing 
great oratorical and poetic gifts, few, if any, are supe- 
rior to parts of Isaiah 40-66. The 

^, ^ 7^. opening verses are a stirring song with 

Characteristics ^ , ^ , . ,. . 

enough of dramatic quality to give 

great power, and in the same lofty strain of con- 
tagious exultation and dramatic imagination are 
many of the outbursts that follow. At times the 
orator's weapon of sarcasm is used with its full 
force to show the folly of trusting in any one but 



ADVANCED COURSE OF LESSONS 95 

Jehovah, as when the prophet pictures a carpen- 
ter using part of the log to warm himself, part to 
cook his meal and out of the residue making a graven 
image which he worships (44: 13-17). Again the 
vials of scorn are outpoured upon Israel's oppressors 
to rouse in the exiles hope of restoration. The 
prophet pictures Babylon a queen reduced to the 
labors of a peasant woman, grinding at the mill or 
disgraced as she must strip off her veil and splendid 
garments (47: 1-7). 

Well has the author of this section been styled 
" the great unknown." There are no biographical 
hints in the chapters, and the person- 
ality of the man is lost in the inten- 
sity of his mission and the dramatic form of his 
utterance. It is quite possible that not all of this 
section was composed by one hand; indeed, the 
arguments for ascribing the last eleven chapters to 
a date after the return from exile, and possibly to 
later writers, are strong. We may well accept the 
writer's own dramatic disguise when he presents 
himself simply as a voice that crieth, " Prepare ye in 
the wilderness the way of Jehovah." The writer or 
writers are hidden, but the voice is unmistakably 
that of inspiration. 

II. Analysis of Lesson 

1. Jehovah will speedily Deliver. — Isaiah 40-55. 

2. The Restored Community. — Isaiah 56-66. 

III. Selected Home Readings 

Comfort ye my people. (Isaiah 40: i-ii.) 
The suffering servant. (Isaiah 42:1-9; 49:1-13; 50:4-11; 

52: 13—53: 12.) 



96 ADVANCED COURSE OF LESSONS 

Cyrus the appointed deliverer. (Lsaiah 45: 1-8.) 
Jerusalem restored. (Isaiah 52: 1-13.) 
Israel in distress. (Isaiah 63: 7-19-) 

IV. Special Points to be Noted 

Silence after Ezekiel's ministry; the break of the silence and 
its occasion; the theme of the latter part of Isaiah (ch. 40 — ); 
the special theme of Isaiah 40-48 ; the tone of the following seven 
chapters ; the "servant passages ;" the character of 56-66 ; the first 
object of Isaiah 40-55; the condition of those addressed in these 
chapters; the prophet's methods in arousing his hearers; the 
advance on all previous teachings in the " servant passages "; 
the lyric and dramatic quality of Isaiah 40-66; the concealment 
of the author's personality. 

V. Points for Review in Class 

Period of silence during the exile ; events in the world's history 
which called forth a new prophet ; the theme of his message ; the 
change at the close of chapter 48; the subject of chapters 56-66; 
the first object of chapters 40-55; methods adopted by the 
prophet to arouse the discouraged; foregleams of the gospel in 
the " servant passages; " the poetic and oratorical gifts of the 
prophet. 

VI. Topics for Discussion 

To be assigned to individuals for report or made the subject of in- 
formal discussion in class. 

1. The arguments for separating Isaiah 40-66 from the earlier 
part of the book. 

2. The career of Cyrus and its relation to the Jews in exile 
(Goodspeed, History of Babylonia and Assyria; Rogers, History 
of Babylonia and Assyria; Kent, History of the Jewish People, 
Babylonian Period). 

3. The advantages of locating prophecies in their true histori- 
cal setting. 

4. Israel's mission to the Gentiles as taught m Isaiah 40-66. 

5. Does the Christian doctrine of sacrifice for service add any- 
thing essential to the teachings of Isaiah 40-66? If so, what.'* 



ADVANCED COURSE OF LESSONS 97 

FIFTH PERIOD — THE RESTORATION 

Lesson XXII 

Temple Rebuilt — Ezra i-6; Haggai; Zechariah 

1-8 

Reference Literature. — Robertson, Old Testament and its Contents; 
Bennett and Adeney, Biblical Introduction; Driver, Literature of Old 
Testament; Expositor's Bible, Book of the Twelve; Farrar, Minor 
Prophets; Sanders and Kent, Messages of the Later Prophets; Hast- 
ings' Bible Dictionary; Encyclopaedia Britannica. 

I. The Biblical Material 

The book of Ezra opens with the decree of 
Cyrus permitting the return and rebuilding of the 
temple, and includes in its first six chapters 
the return, difficulties with the inhabitants 
of Samaria and the final erection of the temple, 
completed twenty years after the restoration. The 
prophecies of Haggai and Zechariah 1-8 are con- 
cerned wholly with the rebuilding (520-516 B.C.). 
Haggai consists of four utterances framed into a 
narrative in which the prophet is spoken of in the 
third person. At the opening, Haggai urges the 
people to rebuild the temple which has been neglected. 
After three weeks, work is begun. The second utter- 
ance is addressed to the discouraged builders, a month 
later. In this the prophet promises Jehovah's bless- 
ing on the new temple. The third address, two 
months later, teaches that Jehovah's blessings have 
been withheld because of neglect to build the temple. 
The fourth address, delivered on the same dav as the 



98 ADVANCED COURSE OF LESSONS 

third, is a prediction of the glory of the Davidic hne 
in Zerubbabel, the governor under whom the temple 
is rebuilt. The first prophecy of Zechariah is dated 
between the second and third of Haggai and his last 
utterance, two years later. Zechariah 's prophecies 
are in the main highly symbolical visions, designed 
to encourage the people in their difficult under- 
taking; their chief purport is that the time is favor- 
able for building and that the people will have the 
blessing of Jehovah. 

Ezra and Nehemiah form a continuous work with 
Chronicles. The narrative of this historical series 
is entirely silent as to the years of exile, 
but is resumed with the victory and 
decree of Cyrus, which is given in duplicate at 
the close of 2 Chronicles and the opening of Ezra. 
The material of Ezra is fragmentary and does not 
give a continuous history. Like Chronicles and the 
other historical books of the Old Testament, Ezra 
is composed from earlier documents. One of these 
seems clearly traceable, for parts of the book are in 
the Aramaic dialect instead of the Hebrew. Appar- 
ently, the compiler included portions of a document 
in this language without translation. Another part 
is in the first person, and may be derived from a per- 
sonal memoir of Ezra himself. Haggai differs from 
the prophetic books already studied in being a story 
of the work and words of the prophet, rather than 
his direct utterances. His work was one of an im- 
mediate and practical nature, and his teachings con- 
tain no great and eternal truths revealed through 
him. His chief thought was loyalty to Jehovah, 



ADVANCED COURSE OF LESSONS 99 

manifested in building his house. Zechariah con- 
tains much more of the richness of the prophetic 
message. Justice, mercy and compassion for the 
fatherless, the stranger and the poor are reechoed 
in his pages. Both Haggai and Zechariah differ from 
the earlier prophets in that their work is primarily 
to secure the means of formal worship, which those 
prophets had seemed almost to scorn. The altered 
conditions and needs of the new age may account 
in part for this change, the beginning of which we 
have already noted in the study of Ezekiel. We 
have now entered upon that period of Judah's his- 
tory when she was no longer a nation, but merely a 
part of a great heathen empire; when the only pos- 
sible preservation of her religion lay in maintaining 
a visible center of worship and in building up dis- 
tinctive forms which might preserve the national 
consciousness when independent national life was 
extinct. 

The practical aim of Haggai finds its natural ex- 
pression in words that are generally direct, unadorned, 
and lacking in poetic quality. His 

^, ^ 7^. speech has, however, rhetorical force 

Characteristics ^ ^ ,. I . . . 

and a little imaginative power m 

one or two passages. Zechariah shows that ten- 
dency toward the later apocalyptic form of writing 
that has been noticed in Ezekiel and elsewhere. 
The symbolism of some of Zechariah's visions is so 
elaborate and obscure as to make the interpretation 
uncertain. In general, apocalyptic symbolism is a 
form of imaginative writing which appeals to the 
Oriental rather than to the Occidental mind. 

L.ofC. 



lOO ADVANCED COURSE OF LESSONS 

Hago^ai and Zechariah are mentioned in Ezra as 
laboring for the rebuilding of the temple. Beyond 
this we know little of their life. Hag- 
gai speaks as though he might have 
seen the first temple, destroyed sixty-six years earlier. 
If such was the case, he must have been an aged man, 
and this may, perhaps, account for the fact that his 
messages continue through such a brief period. 

II. Analysis of Lesson 

1. The Return and Rebuilding. — Ezra 1-6. 

2. The Exhortations of Haggai. — Haggai. 

3. The Visions of Zechariah. — Zechariah 1-8. 

III. Selected Home Readings 

The adversaries of Judah. (Ezra 4.) 

The temple rebuilt. (Ezra 6: 13-22.) 

Haggai rouses Judah. (Haggai 1.) 

Haggai encourages the builders. (Haggai 2: 1-9.) 

Zechariah's warning from the past. (Zechariah 1: 1-6.) 

Zechariah's visions of encouragement. (Zechariah 1:7-21.) 

IV. Special Points to be Noted 

Point at which Ezra takes up the history ; general scope of first 
six chapters of Ezra; the theme of Haggai; of Zechariah 1-8; 
outline of Haggai's ministry; date of Zechariah relative to Hag- 
gai; relation of Ezra and Nehemiah to Chronicles; fragmentary 
character of the history of Ezra; practical character of Haggai's 
mission; his chief thought; greater scope of Zechariah's teach- 
ing; difference in the purpose of Haggai and Zechariah and of 
the earlier prophets; need for a change in the prophetic teach- 
ing; documents traceable in Ezra; characteristics of Haggai's 
style, of Zechariah's style; known facts of the lives of these 
prophets. 



ADVANCED COURSE OF LESSONS lOI 

V. Points for Review in Class 

Scope of first chapters of Ezra ; the work of Haggai and Zech- 
ariah; Haggai's four prophetic utterances and their effect; the 
work of Zechariah in relation. to Haggai; principal thoughts of 
Zechariah; connection of Ezra and Nehemiah with Chronicles; 
the practical character of Haggai's work; his principal thought; 
prophetic teachings included in Zechariah; connection of Haggai 
and Zechariah with priestly worship; changed historical condi- 
tions that made a different teaching necessary; composition of 
Ezra; literary style of Haggai and Zechariah; knowledge of their 
lives. 

\'l. Topics for Discussion 

To be assigned to individuals for report or made the subject of in- 
formal discussion in class. 

1. The relation of prophets and priests in the development of 
Old Testament religion. 

2. The work of practical men and of idealists in Old Testament 
history. 

3. The inferiority of the second temple when compared with 
Solomon's as gathered from the time occupied in building each, 
the resources available and Haggai's comparison. 

4. The history of the temple from Solomon to 70 a.d. 



T02 ADVANCED COURSE OF LESSONS 



Lesson XXIII 

Reform of Ezra and Nehemiah — Ezra 7-10; 
Nehemiah, Malachi (Esther) 

Reference Literature. — Robertson, Old Testament and its Contents; 
Bennett and Adeney, Biblical Introduction; Driver, Literature of Old 
Testament; Expositor's Bible, Book of the Twelve; Farrar, Minor 
Prophets; Sanders and Kent, Messages of the I/ater Prophets; Hast- 
ings' Bible Dictionary; Encyclopaedia Britannica. 

I. The Biblical Material 

The second section of Ezra (7-10) resumes the 
narrative more than half a century after the rebuild- 
ing of the temple recorded in 1-6, and 
recounts the mission of Ezra, dated in the 
seventh year of Artaxerxes, 458 b.c/ Ezra returns 
from the captivity with a large company of follow- 
ers and a measure of authority from the Persian king. 
He finds that the Jews are becoming intermingled 
with foreigners, and takes measures to suppress 
intermarriage. The book of Nehemiah records the 
two visits of Nehemiah to Jerusalem (445 and 432 
B.C.), with the rebuilding of the walls, and includes 
an account of reading the law and renewing the cove- 
nant with Jehovah, in which Ezra is the chief figure. 
The book also tells of the vigorous means adopted 
to provide for the dues of the Levites, the observance 
of the Sabbath and the complete separation of the 
Jews from the neighboring tribes. The prophecy of 
Malachi is chiefly occupied with proper provision 

1 If, as some maintain, the monarch referred to is Artaxerxes II., this 
date should be 398 b.c. 



ADVANCED COURSE OF LESSONS 1 03 

for the temple service and the suppression of foreign 
marriages. It thus connects itself closely with the 
reform measures of Ezra and Nehemiah, and is prob- 
ably to be dated during the period 458-432 b.c. 

The general character of Ezra and Nehemiah as 
parts of the one work, Chronicles to Nehemiah, has 

^, been noted in previous studies. The 

Ch3.r3.ctGr 

portions relating to Nehemiah and written 

in the first person are commonly regarded as the 

personal memoir of this leader embodied with other 

miaterial by the compiler. With the second visit of 

Nehemiah, recorded in the last chapter of the book, 

the historical books of the Old Testament close. The 

story of Esther, which stands by itself, disconnected 

from either of the two great historical series, is laid 

in the period between the rebuilding of the temple 

and the mission of Ezra, and has for its scene of action 

the seat of the Persian government far away from 

Palestine. The prophecy of Malachi shows once 

more the growing unity between prophet and priest, 

in which the ancient prophecy of Israel becomes at 

length extinct. The message of Malachi was one 

calculated to enforce the priestly requirements of 

elaborate ritual. In its insistence, however, upon 

preserving the purity of the Jewish race from every 

intermixture of other blood, the teaching of Malachi 

ma}^ be accounted the seqtiel of the attacks which 

the earlier prophets made upon foreign alliances that 

tended to introduce alien worship. 

The parts of Ezra and Nehemiah that are written 

in the first person are much more vital in character 

than the remainder of these books or the narrative of 



I04 ADVANCED COURSE OF LESSONS 

Chronicles. These portions of the 
^- . . book of Nehemiah are especially vivid 

and attractive, recalling the narrative 
style of the earlier historical writings. The pictures of 
the cup-bearer, sad before his monarch, and of the 
solitary night ride about the ruined walls of Jerusalem 
are among the most familiar and vivid in ancient 
literature. 

The style of IVTalachi is different from that of any 
preceding prophet. He develops his theme, in part, 
through the dialectic method of question and answer in 
its most prosaic form. Once or twice, however, a pas- 
sage reminds us of the splendid prevision and pictorial 
power of the early prophets. Such, for example, is the 
prediction of the coming of the '' messenger " (3: 1-6). 

Malachi is the Hebrew term for " my messenger," 

and is probably not a proper name but taken from 

. , , . 3:1, the prediction of " my messeno:er.". 
Authorship ^. ' .^ . ^ J ^ 

ihe book thus seemis to be anonymous, 

and hardly anything of biographical hint can be 

gathered from its pages. 

II. Analysis of the Lesson 

1. Visit of Ezra. — Ezra 7-10. 

2. The Reforms of Nehemiah and Ezra. — Nehemiah 1-13. 

(a) Visit of Nehemiah and rebuilding of the walls. 

(Nehemiah 1-7.) 
{h) Reading the law and making covenant with Jehovah. 

(Nehemiah 8-10.) 
{c) Matters connected with the reformed community and 
second visit of Nehemiah. (Nehemiah 11-13.) 

3. A Prophet of Reform. — Malachi. 

III. Selected Home Readings 

Need of reform. (Ezra 9.) 



ADVANCED COURSE OF LESSONS T05 

Wretched condition of Jerusalem. (Nehemiah 1.) 
Nehemiah's tour of inspection. (Nehemiah 2: 11-20.) 
Rebuilding the walls. (Nehemiah 4: 7—23.) 
Reading the law. (Nehemiah 8: 1-12.) 
Unworthy offerings. (Malachi 1: 6-14.) 

IV. Special Points to be Noted 

The interval between Ezra 6 and 7; history recorded in Ezra 
7-10; principal events included in the book of Nehemiah; chief 
reforms instituted by Ezra and Nehemiah; the subjects promi- 
nent in Malachi; connection of Malachi with Ezra and Nehemiah; 
personal memoirs in Ezra and Nehemiah; the events with which 
the historical narratives of the Old Testament close; time and 
place of the scene of Esther; the growing unity of prophet and 
priest as seen in Malachi; the teaching in Malachi that especially 
recalls early prophets; vivid narratives in Nehemiah; peculiar 
literary style of Malachi; probable origin of name Malachi; three 
principal divisions of lesson. 

V. Points for Review in Class 

Subject of lessons ; portions of Bible included ; history included ; 
the unrecorded interval in Ezra; probable date of Ezra's mission; 
Ezra's companions and his authority; menace to nation found; 
dates of Nehemiah's visits; Nehemiah's measures for political 
strengthening; the great assembly and renewal of the covenant; 
special reforms of Ezra and Nehemiah; relation of Malachi to 
reforms; the memoirs; close of Old Testament historical narra- 
tives; historical setting of Esther; change in prophetic teach- 
ing seen in Malachi; teaching similar to that of early prophets; 
fine pieces of description in Nehemiah; literary form of Malachi. 

VI. Topics for Discussion 

To be assigned to individuals for report or made the subject of in- 
formal discussion in class. 

1. The character of Ezra, of Nehemiah. 

2. The dangers in Israel's separation. 

3. The inhabitants of Samaria in the time of Ezra and Nehemiah. 



Io6 ADVANCED COURSE OF LESSONS 

SIXTH PERIOD — LEGALISM 

Lesson XXIV 
The Priestly Law — Leviticus, Joel, Jonah 

Reference Literature . — Robertson, Old Testament and its Contents; 
Bennett and Adeney, Biblical Introduction; Driver. Literature of Old 
Testament; Expositor's Bible, Book of the Twelve; Farrar, Minor 
Prophets; Cornill, Prophets of Israel; Sanders and Kent, Messages of 
Law-givers, Messages of Later Prophets; Hastings' Bible Dictionary; 
Encyclopaedia Britannica. 

I. The Biblical Material 

Through the reform of Ezra and Nehemiah the 
priestly law embodied in the book of Leviticus be- 
came dominant, as the Deuteronomic law 
had done one hundred and seventy-five 
years earlier in the reform of Josiah. The first ten 
chapters of Leviticus are occupied wholly with the 
various sacrifices. Laws of ceremonial and sanitary 
cleanness form the substance of the next section. 
Chapters 17-26 are much more miscellaneous in 
character, dealing with both ritual and moral duties. 
This last-named body" of laws is commonly called 
" The Law of Holiness " because the ideal of holiness 
is the leading motive throughout the entire section. 
This ideal involves the separation of Judah from the 
world both in ritual worship and in moral life. The 
book closes with an appendix upon the commuting 
of vows and tithes. The acceptance of the law of 
Leviticus under the influence of Ezra marks the 
triumph of the ideal of a separate people, for which 



ADVANCED COURSE OF LESSONvS I07 

Ezra and Malachi labored in their attacks upon in- 
termarriage with the surrounding tribes and in their 
insistence upon rigid observance of distinctive forms 
of worship. Such separation was made possible by 
the rebuilding of the temple and still more by Nehe- 
miah's great achievement of rebuilding the city wall. 
The period thus ushered in may well be styled the 
Age of Legalism. The traditional order of the books 
of the Bible made it an age of absolute silence in 
prophecy. Scholars of to-day, however, very com- 
monly place the books of Joel and Jonah within this 
age. The prophecy of Joel is concerned chiefly with 
the coming of the day of Jehovah, so often antici- 
pated throughout the prophets. A devastating 
scourge of locusts that brings gaunt famine to the 
land is interpreted, at the opening of this prophecy, 
as the approach of Jehovah's terrible day. But the 
divine wrath is turned aside, the outpouring of the 
spirit upon all flesh is promised, and Jehovah's day 
is foretold as a day of judgment upon the enemies 
of his people while Jerusalem shall dwell securely. 
From this prophet of the age of legalism all demands 
of justice and mercy rather than sacrifice are absent. 
When the judgment of Jehovah seems imminent, 
instead of the ancient demand for moral reform, the 
one thing thought needful is sincere grief and fasting 
and solemn assembly, while the priests weep before 
the altar and pray for the sparing of the people. 
The story of Jonah is probably to be interpreted as 
a protest against the narrowness and bitterness of 
Judah's spirit in the age of legalism. Throughout 
the book the heathen appear by comparison with the 



Io8 ADVANCED COURSE OF LESSONS 

prophet in a very favorable light. He is recreant to 

his duty, and when he has performed his mission he 

is bitter because God is merciful to the repentant 

city. 

The book of Leviticus gives the ceremonial law of 

Judaism in the most elaborate form of any of the 

-, Biblical codes. It is, like Deuteron- 

Character 

omy, a law book, but the two differ 

greatly in their field of interest. Deuteronomy con- 
tains some simple directions as to the place and 
character of worship, but is chiefly a manual 
for the daily duties of the Hebrew, while Leviticus 
is a priestly manual concerned chiefly with the de- 
tails of sacrifices and other ceremonies of Judaism. 
Joel is in form and phraseology much like the earlier 
prophets, but shows the final union of prophecy with 
priestly law in the supreme emphasis laid upon the 
earnest performance of religious ceremony, an em- 
phasis which was for a time absolutely essential to 
the preservation of the religion of Jehovah. Out of 
this age of formalism comes the story of Jonah, as a 
protest against the narrowness and bitterness which 
prevailed. The unknown writer uses the story of 
the unworthy prophet to teach inspired truth, that 
seems a very foretaste of the gospel message of salva- 
tion for the Gentile as well as the Jew — *' Should not 
I have regard for Nineveh, that great city, wherein 
are more than six score thousand persons that can- 
not discern between their right hand and their left 
hand; and also much cattle? " With this simple ex- 
pression of divine compassion upon all sentient crea- 
tures the book of Old Testament prophecy ends. 



ADVANCED COURSE OF LESSONS 109 

The book of Leviticus hardly affords matter for 
literary comment, but Joel is one of the most pol- 
ished pieces of prophetic compo- 

1 erary ^ sition. The little book is a suc- 
Characteristics . ^ . .^,. . , 

cession 01 brilliantly drawn pictures; 

first the terrible devastation and despair of the 
land; then the assembly for prayer; the return of 
rain and fruitfulness ; the outpouring of the divine 
Spirit; and, finally, the anticipated judgment upon 
Israel's enemies and the peaceful prosperity of Zion. 
The narrative of Jonah is a remarkable little writing, 
rarely excelled in vividness, interest and perfect 
unity. 

The book of Leviticus is now very commonly be- 
lieved to be the fruit of a long and slow development 
of the priestly ritual of Israel, which 
can hardly have taken its final form 
before the time of Ezra. Of the man Joel nothing 
is known aside from his prophecy, and this, like the 
book of Malachi, gives little hint as to the life and 
personality of its writer. Jonah, the son of Amittai, 
is mentioned in Kings as a prophet who predicted the 
prosperity of Jereboam II, but the book bearing the 
prophet's name is not the utterance of Jonah, but 
rather a narrative in which he is the central figure. 
We know no more of the author of this book than of 
the author of the stories concerning Elijah or Elisha 
embodied in the books of Kings. 

II. Analysis of Lesson 

I. The Priestly Law Book. — Leviticus, 
(a) Laws of Sacrifice. (1-10.) 



no ADVANCED COURSE OF LESSONS 

(6) Laws of Cleanness. (11-16.) 

(c) The Law of Holiness. (17-26.) 

(d) Appendix on Vows. (27.) 

2. A Prophecy of the Day of Jehovah. — Joel. 

3. Jehovah's Mercy on all Creatures. — Jonah. 

III. Selected Home Readings 

Law of the burnt offering. (Leviticus 1.) 

Thts scourge of locusts. (Joel 1.) 

The solemn assembly and deliverance. (Joel 2: 15-27.) 

Jonah and the sailors. (Jonah 1.) 

Jonah and the God of compassion. (Jonah 3: 10 — 4.) 

IV. Special Points to be Noted 

Result of the reform of Ezra and Nehemiah ; chief divisions of 
Leviticus and general character of laws in each; significance of 
title " Law of Holiness "; its ideal; steps which made its realiza- 
tion possible ; significance of term "Age of Legalism" ; two prophets 
of this age; subject of Joel's prophecy; spirit of the age in 
Joel; contrast with earlier prophecy; protest in the book of 
Jonah; marked difference in contents of Deuteronomy and Levit- 
icus; union of prophet and priest in Joel; its necessity; fore- 
glimpse of the gospel in Jonah; closing thought of Old Testa- 
ment prophecy; picturesque quality of Joel; narrative style of 
Jonah: probable development of Leviticus; Jonah in the book 
of Kings; the writer of Jonah. 

V. Points for Review in Class 

Title of sixth period; subject of lesson; portions of Bible 
included ; influences which made the priestly law dominant ; sub- 
ject of laws in opening section of Leviticus; in following section; 
variety of laws in third section; title of third section; appropri- 
ateness of title ; ideal aimed at ; how was separation made possi- 
ble? prophets of the age of legalism; day of Jehovah in early 
part of Joel's prophecy; change of view in latter part; contrast in 
spirit of Joel and earlier prophecy; teaching of the book of Jonah; 



ADVANCED COURSE OF LESSONS III 

field of Deuteronomy and Leviticus; literary characteristics of 
Joel; of Jonah; origin of Leviticus; the hero and the writer of 
Jonah, 

VI. Topics for Discussion 

To be assigned to individuals for report or made the subject of in- 
formal discussion in class. 

1. Prevalent oversight of the deep religious teachings of the 
book of Jonah. 

2. Possible allegorical interpretation of Jonah. 

3. The loftiest moral and religious truths taught by Old Testa- 
ment prophets. 

4. Deuteronomy the prophetic law book, Leviticus the priestly 
law book — significance of such characterization. 



112 ADVANCED COURSE OF LESSONS 

SUPPLEMENTARY STUDY 

Lesson XXV 
Poetry, Philosophy and Apocalypse 

Reference Literature. — Robertson, Old Testament and its Contents; 
Bennett and Adeney, Biblical Introduction; Driver, Literature of Old 
Testament; Kautzsch, Literature of Old Testament; Encyclopaedia 
Britannica. article Poetry and articles on the several books; Hastings' 
Bible Dictionary. 

I. The Biblical Material 
We have now considered the contents of the two 
great series of historical books in the Old Testament, 
and have treated each prophetic and legal book as 
far as possible at its proper place in the history. 
Space permits a glance only at the remaining books 
of the Old Testament. These, however, have no 
such clear and immediate connection with the his- 
tory as the prophetic and legal writings. 

The presence of many poems embodied in the his- 
torical and prophetic books, some of them of the very 

.^ highest order, has been noted from time 

Poetry ^ ' 

to time, and one brief collection of dirges 

that connects itself closely with a great historic event 
has been considered in its proper relation. The other 
books of poetry are Psalms, Song of Songs, Job and, 
in the form of poetry. Proverbs. The book of Psalms 
contains poems probably dating from the age of the 
monarchy to a time much later than that of Ezra 
and Nehemiah. The present collection must there- 
fore have been completed at a very late day in Old 
Testament history. An examination of the book 



ADVANCED COURSE OF LESSONS 1 13 

shows it to be made up of smaller and earlier collec- 
tions of various dates. In this book almost all aspects 
of Old Testament teachings are reflected in poetic 
expression. Some of the loftiest conceptions of the 
prophets as to God and man's duty are here mirrored, 
together with priestly devotion to the law and ritual 
worship and reflections of '' the wise " such as are 
found in Proverbs. Some of the most beautiful of 
lyric poetry is contained in the Song of Songs. In 
this book Solomon appears as a character partici- 
pating in the action, rather than as the author, and 
the date of writing is highly uncertain. We cannot 
therefore consider it in relation to its place in history. 
Job, one of the world's greatest poems, deals with a 
deep problem of religious philosophy which can 
hardly have concerned the Israelite before the exile, 
and the writing is probably to be dated at some 
period in the years of hardship during or subsequent 
to that era. The theory of life that held physical 
blessings to be the inevitable result of right living, 
and trials, such as sickness and bereavement, the 
direct punishment of sin, though it satisfied the 
earlier Israelite, has been proved imperfect in appli- 
cation and is most earnestly refuted in this great 
poem. The book offers no adequate solution of the 
problem of a righteous God permitting the righteous 
to suffer, but it finds in a vision of God's wisdom the 
ground for calm faith. 

The book of Job has led us from poetry to philos- 
ophy; and the book of Proverbs, though in it the 
PVi'l h parallelism of Hebrew poetry is rigidly 
observed, can hardly be styled poetry. 



114 ADVANCED COURSE OF LESSONS 

It is far better considered as the embodiment of the 
practical philosophy of ancient Israel. This book 
is professedly a collection of wisdom gathered from 
various thinkers. It was probably a long and gradual 
growth, representing the accumulated wisdom on 
practical life developed by the third great class of 
teachers in ancient Israel/' the wise men." Besides 
the various collections of brief proverbs proper, there 
is at the beginning a long eulogy on wisdom and 
at the close a collection of appendixes containing 
some curious bits of ancient reflective thought. 
The book of Ecclesiastes, which deals with the 
problem of the meaning and value of life, shows no 
clear connection with any of the great national 
events, and is probably one of the latest books of 
the Old Testament. It has, indeed, marked affinities 
with certain aspects of Greek philosophic thought. 

The book of Daniel is the Old Testament consum- 
mation of the development of those apocalyptic ten- 
dencies which have appeared in va- 
rious prophets. In general, apocalyptic 
writings contain past history told in the name of 
some ancient hero of Israel followed by a descrip- 
tion of God's judgment on the wicked and deliver- 
ance of his people. Narratives and visions were 
clothed in the most obscure figurative language, of 
which we have seen earlier examples in Ezekiel and 
Zechariah. The historical situation of the author 
of Daniel may be determined with a high degree of 
probability. The early chapters contain a thrilling 
narrative of the exile days, calculated to impress the 
power and willingness of Jehovah to deliver the faith- 



ADVANCED COURSE OF LESSONS II5 

ful; while the visions of the later chapters promise 
deliverance from the terrible persecutions of Anti- 
ochus Epiphanes, who perished in 164 b.c. The book 
is, almost certainly, to be dated between the pollution 
of the temple by Antiochus in 168 b.c and his death 
four years later. We are thus brought down to a 
point in the history long after the fall of the Persian 
Empire, when the unworthy successors of Alexander 
the Great were ruling Palestine. 

II. Analysis of Lesson 

1. Poetry. 

(a) Poetry in historical and prophetic books and the book 

of Lamentations. 

(b) Psalms. 

(c) Song of Songs. 

(d) Job. 

2. Philosophy. 
' (a) Job. 

(b) Proverbs. 

(c) Ecclesiastes. 

3. Apocalypse. 

(a) Apocalyptic elements in earlier prophets. 
(6) Daniel. 

III. Special Points to be Noted 

The wide diffusion of poetry in the Old Testament ; the special 
books of poetry; wide range of date of Psalms; the composition 
of the book of Psalms; wealth of its contents; uncertainty as to 
date of Song of Songs ; poetic value ; probable date of writing Job ; 
the theory of life refuted in Job; the problem considered and 
the solution offered ; gradual growth of Proverbs ; composition of 
the book; probable date of Ecclesiastes; problem of the book; 
general type of apocalyptic books; lesson of early chapters of 
Daniel; objective point of visions in Daniel; probable date of 
writing. 



Il6 ADVANCED COURSE OF LESSONS 

IV. Points for Review in Class 

Subject of lesson; portion of Bible included in previous lessons; 
poetry in Old Testament outside of the poetic books ; titles of the 
poetic books; place of Psalms in the history; various collections 
of hymns included ; relation of book of Psalms to the writings of 
prophets, priests and wise men; Solomon in the Song of Songs; 
period when poem of Job was probably written; ancient belief 
combated in book of Job ; the unsolved problem ; ground of faith ; 
names of the philosophical books ; variety of material in the book 
of Proverbs ; subject of Ecclesiastes ; its place in the hi ^tory ; chief 
apocalypse of the Old Testament ; subjects commonly dealt with 
in apocalyptic writing ; peculiarity of style ; the great lesson of the 
narrative portion of Daniel; the prediction of the visions; place 
of Daniel in history. 

V. Topics for Discussion 

To be assigned to individuals for report or made the subject of in- 
formal discussion in class. 

1. The poetry of ancient Israel, its chief characteristics and 
merits (Encyclopaedia Britannica, article Poetry). 

2. Apocalyptic writings outside of Old Testament (Articles on 
Apocalyptic Literature in Encyclopaedia Britannica and Hastings' 
Bible Dictionary). 

3. The wealth of different literary forms in the Old Testament. 



X, 



ADVANCED COURSE OF LESSONS II7 

Lesson XXVI 
Review 

I. The Biblical Material 

The twelve lessons now completed include the 
historical narratives concerning Judah from the ac- 
cession of Rehoboam to the last visit of 
Nehemiah, together with all the books of 
prophecy (except the two earliest), the two great 
law books and the book of Lamentations. In the 
last lesson a glance has been taken at the remaining 
books of the Old Testament. The periods of history 
included are III. National Decline B, of Judah; IV. 
The Captivity; V. The Restoration; VI. Legalism. 
The first of these periods includes three centuries and 
a half of history and closes with the destruction of 
Jerusalem and deportation of its inhabitants to 
Babylonia. The second includes the Babylonian 
exile, occupying about half a century (597, first cap- 
tivity, or 586, destruction of Jerusalem to 538 B.C.). 
The third opens with the capture of Babylon by 
Cyrus and his permission for the Jews to return to 
Palestine and closes with the reforms of Ezra and 
Nehemiah, including about one century of history. 
The fourth is the age following the adoption of the 
Levitical law under Ezra. The first period, while 
styled a time of national decline, is, nevertheless, 
through marvelous spiritual development, the age 
of Israel's true glory. It is the age of Isaiah, Micah, 
Zephaniah, Nahum, Habakkuk and Jeremiah; the 



Il8 ADVANCED COURSE OF LESSONS 

age when some of the highest and most spiritual 
conceptions of God and of man's relation to him 
were first uttered. It is the age of the great re- 
form of Josiah, when the lofty moral and religious 
standards of the prophets, embodied in Deuter- 
onomy, were accepted as the law of the land. The 
era of captivity produced the prophecies of Ezekiel, 
Obadiah (probably) and " The Great Unknown." 
The period of the restoration centered in the re- 
building of the temple and the city walls. It 
was the time of Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi, 
and closed with the adoption of the Levitical 
law. The age of legalism following the strenuous 
measures of separation adopted by Nehemiah and 
Ezra produced two prophetic writers, Joel and the 
author of Jonah, the one fully imbued with the best 
spirit of legalism, the other laboring against the evil 
tendencies of the age. This last age included also 
the development of apocalyptic prophecy in the 
splendid visions of Daniel. 

The historical books, including a part of Kings 
and the series Chronicles, Ezra and Nehemiah, show 
the same method of historical composition 
noted in the lessons of the first quarter, 
namely, compilation of various documents. A verse by 
verse comparison of Chronicles with Kings shows that 
the Hebrew writer of history sometimes condensed or 
expanded his sources, bvit often embodied material 
substantially verbatim from earlier records. The por- 
tions of the historical books considered during the 
present quarter do not give us such a rich variety of 
literary material as the books from Genesis to Samuel. 



ADVANCED COURSE OF LESSOXS II9 

The prophetic books show an interesting variety 
of contents. While, in the main, they consist of 
brief reports of prophetic Hisconrses or written ser- 
mons of the prophets, the}^ contain often biographi- 
cal notices of these great teachers, or even fragments 
of the national history in connection with which the 
prophets performed their mission. The sermons 
of the prophets reveal most vital eternal truths, but 
have usually a primary and ^immediate application 
to the needs of their hearers. 

The poetry of Israel reflects all phases of the na- 
tion's highest life as embodied in the varied teach- 
ings of the prophets, priests and wise men. 

The " wisdom " or philosophical literature con- 
cerns itself with problems of religious philosophy or 
with the practical questions of daily life. 

The Apocal^^ptic literature is the successor of the 
prophetic literature of Israel, and has a great develop- 
ment in the extra-canonical writings of the Jews. 
It is also represented in the Xew Testament by the 
book of Revelation. 

To the treasures of lyric poetr}" embodied in the 

poetic and historical books our study has added some 

appreciation of the poetic wealth hid- 

ChaVacSics ^^^ ^^ ^^^ P^°P^^^^^- ^^^ hardly 
knows whether to esteem these writ- 
ings more highh^ for their rhetorical or poetic merits. 
Our study has laid emphasis, too, on the fact that 
the Old Testament contains, in addition to superb 
prose narrative and unequalled lyric poetry, oratory 
of great variety and power. It appears in the elabo- 
rate written rhetoric of Deuteronomy, in the logical, 



120 ADVANCED COURSE OF LESSONS 

crushing indictment of Amos, in the tender appeals 
of Hosea and Jeremiah, in the majestic iitterances 
of Isaiah. 

II. Analysis of Lesson 

1. National Decline of Judah. — i Kings 14: 21 — 2 Kings; 
2 Chron. 10 — 36: 21; Isaiah, Micah, Zephaniah, Deuteronomy, 
Nahum, Habakkuk, Jeremiah. 

(a) Time of stability — i Kings 14: 21 — 2 Kings 15: 7; 

2 Chronicles 10-27. 
(h) The Assyrian peril. — 2 Kings 15: 32 — 20; Isaiah 1-39. 
(r) Internal peril. — Micah; 2 Kings 21. 

(d) Internal reform. — Zephaniah; 2 Kings 22 — 23: 30; 
Deuteronomy. 

(e) The Babylonian peril. — Nahum; 2 Kings 23: 31— 24: 

7 ; Habakkuk, 
(/) The fall of Judah. — 2 Kings 24 — 25: 26; Jeremiah. 

2. The Captivity. — Lamentations, Obadiah, Ezekiel, Isaiah 
40—66. 

(a) Opening years of exile. — Lamentations,- Obadiah, 

Ezekiel. 

(b) Later years of exile. — Isaiah 40-66. 

3. The Restoration. — Ezra, Nehemiah, Haggai, Zechariah, 
Malachi. 

(a) The temple rebuilt. — Ezra 1-6; Haggai; Zechariah 
1-8. 

(h) Reform of Ezra and Nehemiah. — Ezra 7-10; Nehe- 
miah; Malachi; (Esther). 

4. Legalism. 

The priestly law. — Leviticus, Joel, Jonah. 

5. Poetry, Philosophy and Apocalypse. 

(a) Poetry. — Psalms, Song of Songs, Job (Lamentations 

and occasional poems). 
(6) Philosophy. — Job, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes. 

(c) Apocalypse. — Daniel (portions of prophets). 

III. Points for Review in Class 

Portion of history covered by lessons of this quarter; its divi- 
sion into four periods ; boundaries of each period ; the glory of the 



ADVANCED COURSE OF LESSONS 12 1 

period of political decline; the prophets of the captivity; central 
events of the restoration period; prophets and leaders of the 
period; exclusiveness of Judah under legalism; the influence of 
Leviticus; contrasted messages of Joel and Jonah; the books of 
poetry, philosophy, apocalypse. 

IV. Topics for Discussion 

To be assigned to individuals for report or made the subject of in- 
formal discussion in class. 

I. The advantages of studying prophetic books in their histor- 
ical connections. 

2-. The three great classes of teacher ; in ancient Israel, prophets, 
priests and wise men, and their respective work (Kent, History 
of Hebrews, Vol. I, ch. 2, etc.). 

3. Great differences, both political and religious, between 
the pre-exilic and post-exilic periods of Israel's history (Kent, 
History of Jewish people, ch. 9; McCurdy, History, Prophecy 
and the Monuments, Vol. Ill, 3i3-3i7» 354-379; Expositor's 
Bible, Isaiah, Vol II, 57-68; Cornill, People of Israel, 145-150). 



THE NEW TESTAMENT 



Lesson XXVII 
General View of New Testament 

Reference Literature. — Hastings' Bible Dictionary, articles Bible, 
New Testament, New Testament Canon; Encyclopaedia Britannica, 
article Bible; Bacon, Introduction to New Testament, chap. 2; Ben- 
nett and Adeney, Biblical Introduction, Introduction to New Testa- 
ment section. 

I. The Biblical Material 
The New Testament is composed of: (i) Histori- 
cal Books, — the Gospels and Acts. The first three 

^ Gospels Rive accounts of Christ's life very 

Contents .... ,. , . . .-. 

similar m outline and m many details. 

These are commonly called the Synoptic Gospels, 
as giving a synoptic, or similar, view of the life. The 
fourth Gospel stands apart from this group, dealing 
largely with different events in the life and present- 
ing the whole theme in a very different way. The 
book of Acts forms the sequel to the third Gospel, 
and records the spread of Christianity from Judsea 
to the center of the Roman world. 

(2) Epistles. These are twenty-one in number, 
and are attributed to Paul (13), John (3), Peter (2), 
James (i), Jude (i) and one (Hebrews) is anony- 
mous. 

(3) The Apocalypse. 

As in its treatment of the historical books in the 
Old Testament, the present course omits investiga- 



ADVANCED COURSE OF LESSONS 1 23 

tion of the dates of composition of the his- 
^ , torical books of the New. Their conterxts 

are summarized to furnish an outHne of New 
Testament history, as far as they carry forward the 
narrative, and an effort is made to appreciate their 
leading characteristics; but for the critical questions 
involved in determining the dates and sources of 
these books the student must be referred to the New 
Testament introductions and commentaries. 

Into the outline of history furnished by Acts, the 
other books that were written within the period in- 
cluded are fitted. Those which are generally re- 
garded by New Testament scholars as belonging to 
a period later than that recorded in Acts are taken 
up, as nearly as may be, in their chronological order. 

It was noticed in the general introduction to the 

_ .^. present course of study that the New 

Composition ^ ,, '^ , . , . , 

iestament was all composed withm less 

than one century, while the Old Testament repre- 
sents a literary development of ten times that 
period. 

The writings of the New Testament were at first 
widely scattered. They originated in different regions 

^ „ , of the great Roman empire, and in manv 

Collection ^ . ,-, .,..,/ 

cases were originally sent to individuals 

and churches in many different districts. The col- 
lection of these scattered books into our present New 
Testament, and the sifting out of those early Christian 
writings that were finally excluded from the canon 
adopted by the Church, was a gradual process, the 
details of which are often obscure. By the end of 
the second century, there is evidence that most of 



124 ADVANCED COURSE OF LESSONS 

the books were recognized and appealed to as au- 
thorities, though the final and exact determination of 
the New Testament canon was not made till several 
centuries later. In general, the Western churches 
were slow to accept the Epistle to the Hebrews and 
most of the Catholic Epistles, and the Eastern 
churches hesitated in reference to the Apocalypse 
and some of the Catholic Epistles. 

The New Testament does not ofTer so rich a variety 

of literary form as that found in the Old Testament. 

Poetry, so abundant in the Old, is 

^, ^ .\_, found to a limited des:ree only in 

Characteristics , ^r ^ ^S. . . ^ 

the New lestament. The principal 

classes of prose literature are, however, represented 
as in the earlier Scriptures — historical narrative, 
rhetoric or oratory, and reflective or philosophical 
writing. The Gospels and Acts contain a rich variety 
of narrative, and also embody records of many ad- 
dresses. When considering literary form, the epistles 
cannot be roughly classed together as a homogeneous 
group. Some are personal letters, others are general 
essays or treatises, while still others assume almost 
the form of addresses. In their moral exhortations 
they perform, in part, the function of the sermons 
of Old Testament prophets. In their reflective aspects 
they, at times, closely resemble certain of the wisdom 
writings. The Apocalypse represents that literary 
form which, before the close of the Old Testament 
canon, superseded the earlier forms of prophecy, and 
became very popular in later Judaism, being largely 
i*epresented in non-canonical writings. 

The Old Testament writings grew out of a nation's 



ADVANCED COURSE OF LESSONS 1 25 

life through the experiences of many centuries. In 
the first instance, they were addressed to one people. 
The New Testament writings grew out of the life 
and teachings of Christ and of the early experiences 
of the Church that he founded. The various books 
were in the first instance addressed to peoples of 
many nationalities. These peoples were, however, 
unified by their common Greek language and Roman 
government, as well as by their common gospel, and 
in no small measure, also, by the widely spread influ- 
ence of the Jewish synagogue. 

II. Points for Review in Class 

Three general divisions of New Testament literature; two 
divisions of Gospels; relation of Acts to the Third Gospel; divi- 
sions of the epistles, order of study to be followed in New Testa- 
ment; length of time within which the New Testament was 
written compared with time of Old Testament; scattered con- 
dition of New Testament books at first; time involved in form- 
ing New Testament canon; variety of literary forms in Old and 
New Testaments compared ; principal forms of prose represented 
in New Testament; variety of narrative in Gospels and Acts; 
variety in literary character of the epistles; apocalyptical writ- 
ing among the Jews; to whom were the books of the Old Testa- 
ment first addressed? to whom those of the New? 

III. Topics for Discussion 

To be assigned to individuals for report or made the subject of in- 
formal discussion in class. 

1. Points of difference between Old and New Testaments be- 
sides those suggested above. 

2. Further points of connection between the Old and New 
Testaments. 

3. When did the New Testament writings come to be regarded 
£s of similar authority with the Old' 



126 ADVANCED COURSE OF LESSONS 

FIRST PERIOD — LIFE OF CHRIST 

Lesson XXVIII 
The Synoptic Gospels — Matthew, Mark, Luke 

Reference Literature. — Bennett and Adeney, Biblical Introduction; 
Bacon, Introduction to New Testament; Salmon, Introduction to New 
Testament; Weiss, Introduction to New Testament; Dods, Intro- 
duction to New Testament; Encyclopaedia Britannica, article Gospels; 
Hastings* Bible Dictionary; Rhees, Life of Jesus. 

I. The Biblical Material 

The common narrative in the three Synoptic Gos- 
pels begins with the ministry of John the Baptist 
and the baptism of Jesus, includes the Gali- 
laean ministry, the journey to the Passover and 
the Jerusalem ministry, and closes with the passion 
and resurrection. To this common material Matthew 
and Luke prefix the genealogies, birth and childhood 
(narratives quite distinct in each), Matthew adds a 
large amount of discourse material and Luke adds 
much of this, together with the fullest account of the 
Persean ministry. 

The Synoptic Gospels give, not a complete biog- 
raphy of Jesus, but a vivid objective picture of his 
ministry, showing him as he moves among 
men, healing their diseases, preaching and 
teaching. The picture of the ministry thus presented 
suggests only one year of activity, closing at the 
Passover season. The longer ministry indicated in 
John finds some confirmation in points given in the 
Synoptists, though their matter is so arranged .that 
it gives in itself no clear impression of the true length 



ADVANCED COURSE OF LESSONS 1 27 

and order of events in Christ's ministry. It is to be 
noted, also, that the composite picture includes only 
the time of public ministry. 

The three Synoptic Gospels bear close relation to 
one another, both in contents and language. Sub- 
stantially the entire narrative of Mark 

^ , is embodied in Matthew and also in 

Books 

Luke, while both of these longer Gospels 

add a large amount of material that they have in 
common, as well as matter that is peculiar to each. 
The problem of accounting for the close resemblances 
of the three, combined with their striking differences, 
is one of the most perplexing in Biblical criticism. 
That there is literary connection is, however, obvious. 
The most widely accepted theory is, briefly stated, 
that Mark, the earliest of the three, was embodied 
by the other writers, with material added from other 
sources. The most important of these other sources, 
especially for the Gospel of Matthew, would be a 
collection of Christ's teachings styled in the second 
century the Logia (Oracles). In relation to the Fourth 
Gospel little connection is found. Very few of the 
sayings, deeds or events recorded in the Synoptists 
occur in this book. On the other hand, the connec- 
tion between Luke and Acts is exceedingly close. 
Indeed, Acts seems to be intended as the sequel of 
the Third Gospel. 

In spite of the close resemblances between the 

first three Gospels, each has its own individuality. 

All were written with different readers 

^, ^ .v.. in mind, and each gives the picture of 
Characteristics ^ ' ^, ,.„ 

J esus from a somewhat diiierent pomt 



128 ADVANCED COURSE OF LESSONS 

of view. In Matthev^, Jesus is first of all the son of 
Abraham and David, the promised Messiah, the ful- 
filment of all Old Testament expectations. In Luke, 
he is the compassionate Saviour, tenderly caring for 
the poor, the weak, the sinful. In Mark's terse nar- 
rative, the most vivid impression made is that of the 
intense activity of Christ's ministry. 

Three ancient nations have chiefiy contributed 
to the ideals of modern civilization. In a measure, 
the three Synoptic Gospels, when combined, present 
Jesus as the embodiment of the three ideals — 
Matthew's Messiah is the Jewish; Mark's man of 
action, the Roman; Luke's representation of the 
ideal, symmetrical human character, the Greek. 

In details of style the book of Matthew is not with- 
out picturesque beauty, but its narrative lacks the 
rapidity of movement, the sketchy vividness, every- 
where noticeable in Mark. In Luke, there is a pol- 
ished beauty of utterance that both the others lack. 
This Gospel also includes poems which have come 
to be great hymns of the Church — The Magnificat 
(1:46-55), The Benedictus (1:68-79), The Gloria 
in Excelsis (2:14), The Nunc Dimittis. (2:29-32). 

The earliest statements that we have as to the 
authorship of the Synoptic Gospels come from the 
second century. According to these, 
Matthew, one of the original twelve 
apostles, wrote the Logia (Oracles) in Hebrew, or 
the Aramaic dialect. This document is commonly 
believed to have been the source of a large part of 
the discourse material embodied in the First Gospel, 
which seems to be composed chiefly of the narrative 



ADVANCED COURSE OF LESSONS 1 29 

of Mark and this early collection of Christ's teach- 
ings. From the same source comes the statement 
that Mark (son of a certain Mary at whose house 
the infant Church assembled, Acts 12:12) wrote 
what he had heard Peter preach. It is accordingly 
customary to regard the Second Gospel as virtually 
Peter's. In the latter part of the second century 
the Third Gospel was attributed to Luke, the be- 
loved physician, companion of Paul. This Gospel 
is hence frequently associated with Paul's preaching 
as the second is with Peter's. 

II. Analysis of Lesson 

The general outline of all the Synoptic Gospels is as follows: 

1. Preliminary Matter. 

2. Galilaean Ministry. 

3. Crisis in Galilee. 

4. Ministry in Peraea and Jerusalem. 

5. Passion and Resurrection. 

III. Selected Home Readings 

Healing activity. (Matthew 8, 9.) 

A group of parables. (Matthew 13: 1-52.) 

A ministry of activity. (Mark 7: 24-37.) 

The Magnificat. (Luke 1-46-55.) 

The Benedictus. (Luke 1:68-79.) 

The Gloria in Excelsis. (Luke 2: 14.) 

The Nunc Dimittis. (Luke 2: 29-32.) 

IV. Points for Review in Class 

Period of history; subject of lesson; portion of Bible included; 
scope of the common narrative in the three Synoptics; matter 
prefixed in Matthew and Luke; characteristic additions of Mat- 
thew and Luke; the character of the Synoptic narrative — a 
chronological history? a complete biography? 



130 ADVANCED COURSE OF LESSONS 

General relation of the Synoptic Gospels to one another; spe- 
cial relation of Matthew and Luke to Mark; the Logia; relation 
of John and Synoptics; of Acts and Synoptics; different pic- 
tures of the Christ in the first three Gospels; the composite pic- 
ture; style of Matthew compared with that of Mark; style of 
Luke; poetry included in Luke; early belief as to the character 
of Matthew's writing, as to the author of Second Gospel, of Third; 
general outline of Synoptic matter. 

V. Topics for Discussion 

To be assigned to individuals for report or made the subject of in- 
formal discussion in class. 

1. Advantages of the triple picture given by the Synoptic 
Gospels. 

2. The dates of the first three Gospels (see Reference Liter- 
ature) . 

3. The Synoptic Problem — What is the problem? What are 
the prevailing solutions? (See Reference Literature.) 



ADVANCED COURSE OF LESSONS I31 

Lesson XXIX 
The Gospel of John 

Reference Literature. — Bennett and Adeney, Biblical Introduction; 
Bacon, Salmon, Weiss, Dods, Introductions to New Testament; Cam- 
bridge Bible, St. John; Encyclopaedia Britannica; Hastings' Bible 
Dictionary. 

I. The Book of John 

The Fourth Gospel opens with a prologue in which 

Christ is identified with the divine Word. It then 

refers to the work of John the Baptist and 
Scope , , . '' , .. 

records the opening of the ministry of 

Jesus in Galilee. From this point onward the scene 

changes to Jerusalem, then back again to Galilee, 

through Samaria, and again to Judaea, where the 

events recorded in the last two-thirds of the book 

occur. The final chapters record appearances of 

Jesus after the resurrection. 

In contrast to the simple narrative of the Syn- 

optists, John's Gospel may be styled an interpretation 

^, of Christ's life and work. The book 

Character . _ . . ^c - 

contains an ascending series of signs, 

from the water made wine at Cana to the raising of 
Lazarus, all written down for the avowed purpose 
of bringing conviction that Jesus is the Messiah, the 
Son of God. For the same end, no doubt, those 
teachings are selected that emphasize the divine 
nature of Christ. With these proofs there is inter- 
woven the conception of a mystical union of the 
believers with their Saviour. This is presented under 
the fi8:ures of the new birth, the livins: water, the 



132 ADVANCED COURSE OF LESSONS 

vine and branches, the heavenly bread. The book 
is, thus, not only the gospel of Christ's divinity, but 
also of man's unity with the Christ, and thus it gives 
the most perfect interpretation of the significance 
of Christ to humanity. 

While John and the Synoptists narrate the same 
period of the life of Jesus with much the same gen- 
eral outline, from the preaching of 

^^, ^ , John to the resurrection, they differ 
Other Books '\ , , . ' -^ 

almost completely m the events and 

teachings recorded. It has been estimated that only 
eight per cent of John is coincident with matter in 
the Synoptics. No very close relation therefore 
exists between this book and the other Gospels, either 
in matter or form. 

The Gospel of John exhibits a unity and symmetry 

of arrangement, from the prologue that gives the key, 

through the progressive development 

1 e ary ^ ^^ ^^^ proofs of the divinity of Jesus 

to the climax of the blessedness of 

belief without personal sight, that makes this little 

book a marvel of literary perfection. 

No more difficult and delicate problem exists in 
literary criticism than the Johannine question. From 
an early date in the history of the Church 
the difficulty of regarding the Fourth Gospel 
and the Apocalypse as the writing of the same 
hand has been recognized, and in more modern 
times the striking differences in the form of Christ's 
teachings and in other respects between John and 
the Synoptics have raised questions difficult to 
answer. Of late years there has been a certain 



ADVANCED COURSE OF LESSONS I33 

tendency toward unity in the discussions of the au- 
thorship of John. Some of the more radical schol- 
ars have come to recognize that this book was com- 
pleted at a date much nearer the time of John the 
Apostle than they formerly held, and many scholars 
of a somewhat conservative type have come to be- 
lieve that, though the heart of the Gospel can be 
defended as from the Apostle John, the material 
may have been put in its present form by a hand a 
little later than his. At the earliest, the book must 
have been written very near the close of the first 
century, when the apostle would have been an ex- 
ceedingly old man. 

II. Analysis of Lesson 

1. Prologue. — l:i-i8. 

2. Galilaean Ministry. 1 — 1: 19 — 6. 

3. Judaean Ministry. — 7-12. 

4. The Passion and Resurrection. — 13-20. 

5. Appendix. — ^21. 

III. Selected Home Readings 

The Word made flesh. (1: i-iS.) 

The new birth. (3: 1-2 1.) 

The living water. (4: 1-26.) 

The good shepherd. (10: 1-2 1.) 

The true vine. (15: 1-17.) 

Christ's prayer of intercession. (17.) 

R^. Special Points to be Noted 

The prologue and its relation to the purpose of the book; the 
successive signs — (i) water made wine, (2) cure of nobleman's 

1 This analysis is approximately accurate, though the first preaching 
in Judaea and the journey through Samaria are included under 2. 



134 ADVANCED COURSE OF LESSONS 

son, (3) cure of infirm man, (4) feeding multitude, (5) walk- 
ing on sea, (6) cure of blind man, (7) raising Lazarus; the scenes 
of the ministry — Jordan, Galilee, Jerusalem, Samaria, Galilee, 
Jerusalem, Galilee, Jerusalem; the three Passovers named (2: 
13-25; 6:4; 13: 1-20); Johannine interpretation of Jesus — 
the Word, Messiah (1: igff., 26/., 29-34, 36; 3: 22-36), the 
Bread of Life (6), the Light of the World and True Shepherd 
rS-lO), the Resurrection and Life (11), the Head of the Church" 
(13-17). 

V. Points for Review in Class 

Subject of lesson; natural divisions of the Gospel of John; 
character of the book as shown by its emphasis on signs; the 
kind of teachings emphasized as to Christ, as to humanity's re- 
lation to him; relation of John to Synoptists, in general outline, 
in events and teachings recorded; most striking literary char- 
acteristic; authorship. 

The relation of the prologue to the book as a whole ; some of 
the principal miracles recorded; the regions in which Jesus min- 
stered; the number of passovers included in his ministry; the 
Johannine view of Jesus. 

VI. Topics for Discussion 

To be assigned to individuals for report or made the subject of in- 
formal discussion in class. 

1. The most precious teachings of the Fourth Gospel. 

2. Resemblances between the Gospel and Epistles of John. 

3. Striking differences between the Gospel and Epistles of 
John on the one hand and Revelation on the other. 

4. Were there two cleansings of the temple? (Compare John 
with Synoptists and see commentaries on John.) 



ADVANCED COURSE OF LESSONS 135 

SECOND PERIOD — THE EARLY CHURCH 
A. JUDAIC PERIOD 

Lesson XXX 
Inception and Scattering of the Church — Acts 1-12 

Reference Literature . — Bennett and Adeney, Biblical Introduction; 
Bacon, Salmon, Weiss, Dods, Introductions to New Testament; Cam- 
bridge Bible, Acts; McGiffert, History of Christianity in the Apostolic 
Age; Purves, Apostolic Age; Encyclopaedia Britannica; Hastings' Bible 
Dictionary. 

I. The Biblical Material 
The book of Acts opens with the apostolic com- 
mission to bear witness throughout the world and 
the ascension of Christ. The first twelve 
chapters include the founding of the Church 
in Judaea, Samaria and Syria, the martyrdom of 
Stephen, the conversion of Paul, the martyrdorii of 
James and the death of the persecutor Herod. The 
section may be divided naturally into two parts, the 
first of which (1-7) recounts the inception of the 
Church at Jerusalem, and the second, its scattering 
to Phoenicia, Cyprus and Antioch upon the tribula- 
tion that arose about Stephen. 

In a sense the book of Acts stands as the one book 
of history in the New Testament — the history of the 

^, ^ founding of the Christian Church. We 

Character 

may, it is true, roughly class the Gospels 

as historical books, but they have less of the usual 
character of historical literature than the book of 
Acts. One clear purpose seems to determine the 
plan of Acts — to record the fulfilment of the great 



13^ ADVANCED COURSE OF LESSONS 

commission to carry the gospel from Judaea and Sa- 
maria to the uttermost part of the earth. Beginning 
in Judaea, the spread is traced through Syria, Cyprus, 
Asia Minor and Greece to Rome, the nerve-center of 
the civiHzed world. This having been accomplished, 
the record ceases without any attempt to satisfy our 
eager curiosity as to the fate of the great actors of 
the thrilling narrative. 

Acts, opening with the last instructions and the 
ascension of Christ, connects itself closely with all 
. the Gospels, but it is especially the 

Ofh "R w s^Q^^l o^ the Third Gospel. The 
commission (Acts i : 8) is a repetition 
of that given at the close of Luke (24: 47-49), and 
the introductory address of Acts connects the pres- 
ent treatise on the spreading influence of Christ's 
deeds and teachings with the same author's former 
treatise concerning all that he began to do and to 
teach. 

In literary form the book of Acts is a carefully 

constructed whole, with a unity of plan and purpose 

that may be easily traced and a 

^, : . clearness of outline that fixes its 

Characteristics . . , ^ 

mam contents m the memory, io- 

gether with this somewhat obvious framework that 
might give unpleasant rigidity, there is a literary 
power in the recording of events that brings the prin- 
cipal characters close to our sight and heart. So 
prominent are Peter and Paul in the book that it 
has been called a biography of these two great apos- 
tles. A moment's reflection shows that the author 
had no thought of making it this. Peter instantly 



ADVANCED COURSE OF LESSONS I37 

disappears from view when his part in the purpose 
of the whole book is accomphshed. The long years 
of his subsequent service are absolutely unnoticed, 
and Paul, too, drops from sight when he has carried 
the gospel to Rome. Not to write biographical 
studies of the heroes of the Church, but to record the 
spread of Christianity, is the obvious aim of the 
author. The book is, then, to be classed as a history 

— a history of a great movement in the life of hu- 
manity. In the chapters selected for the present 
lesson many scenes and characters are vividly por- 
trayed — the Pentecostal preaching, Peter and John 
before the Council, the death of Ananias and Sap- 
phira, the death of Stephen, Philip and the Ethiopian, 
the conversion of Saul. These are but a few among 
the successive pictures painted in unfading colors 
in the opening pages of Acts. 

The book is manifestly written by the same hand 
as the Third Gospel. Certain portions are written 

- , , . in the first person, indicating the hand 
Authorship ^. r -n 1 f ^1 ^• 

of a companion of Paul at the times 

described in these sections. A careful comparison 
with allusions to Paul's companions in his letters 
shows that the one with him at these times, and these 
times only, can hardly be other than the beloved 
physician Luke. It would seem that he must be 
the author at least of these portions. 

II. Analysis of Lesson 

1. Inception of the Church at Jerusalem. — 1-7. 

2. Spread of the Church to Phoenicia, Cyprus and Antioch. 

_ 8-12. 



138 ADVANCED COURSE OF LESSONS 

III. Selected Home Readings 

Peter and John before the CounciL (4: 1-22.) 

Stephen's martyrdom. (7: 54 — 8: la.) 

PhiHp and the Ethiopian. (8: 26-40.) 

Conversion of SauL (9: 1-25.) 

Repentance unto life granted to Gentiles, (11: 1-18.) 

Scattering by persecution. (11: 19-30.) 

IV. Specl\l Points to be Noted 

The apostolic commission (1 : 8) ; choice of a new apostle ; the 
gift of the Spirit; Peter's speech at Pentecost; cure of a lame 
man ; Peter and John before the Council ; sin of Ananias and 
Sapphira; appointment of the seven, Stephen's ministry and 
martyrdom. 

Spread of Church through persecution ; Philip and Simon 
Magus; Peter and John sent to Samaria; Philip and the Ethio- 
pian; conversion of Saul; visit to Jerusalem; Peter at Joppa 
and Lydda; raising of Tabitha; Peter and Cornelius; martyr- 
dom of James; imprisonment and escape of Peter; death of 
Herod. 

V. Points for Review in Class 

Subject of second period; subject of lesson; portion of Bible 
included; portion of history included; natural divisions of Acts 
1-12; purpose of the book; plan of the book; relation of Acts 
to four Gospels, to Luke; unity of Acts; Acts a biography? 
vivid picturing in chapters 1-12. 

The thought of the apostolic commission and its relation to 
the book of Acts; private preparation for carrying on work of 
Christ; beginning of public ministry; opposition met; internal 
danger; the function of the seven; the first martyr; immediate 
cause of spread of gospel; regions first influenced; difficulty in 
receiving Gentiles; death of James. 

VI. Topics for Discussion 

To be assigned to individuals for report or made the subject of in- 
formal discussion in class. 

1. Position and character of Peter as represented in Acts. 

2. Early life and character of Paul as represented in Acts. 

3. Character of Stephen. 

4. Influence of persecution. 



ADVANCED COURSE OF LESSOj^-S 1 39 

Lesson XXXI 
An Epistle of the Judaic Period — James 

Reference Literature. — Bennett and Adeney, Biblical Introduction; 
Bacon, Salmon, Weiss, Dods, Introductions to New Testament; Stevens, 
Messages of the Apostles; McClymont, New Testament and its Writers; 
Burton, Records and Letters of the Apostolic Age, Note 2; Encyclo- 
paedia Britannica; Hastings' Bible Dictionary. 

I. The Book of James 

The Epistle of James is a discourse or series of 
discourses on the practical aspects of religion, such 
as steadfastness in temptation, active sym- 
pathy for the afflicted, the evil of unbridled 
tongues, covetousness, boasting, oppression of em- 
ployes and the like. The opening section sets 
forth the ideal of a life that steadfastly resists evil 
desire, seeking wisdom from God, and activel}^ min- 
isters to others. In the second chapter the royal 
law of love, the law of liberty that does not permit 
unkind discrimination between men because of their 
outward circumstances, is enforced. No mere intel- 
lectual faith in God can be substituted for good works 
toward man. The danger of speech in which there 
is pride and contention is next contrasted with that 
wisdom which shows itself in a life of gentleness, 
mercy and good fruits. Finally, the folly of those 
who live in pride and oppression is scorned by the 
writer, who urges patient continuance in faith and 
good works with all mutual helpfulness. 

This epistle is a combination of much that is best 



140 ADVANCED COURSE OF LESSONS 

in the ethical teachings of the Old Testament proph- 
Character ^^^ with the Christian thought of a royal 
law of love that gives liberty from the 
hampering details of the old, minute enactments. 

The date of this epistle offers a problem hard to 
solve. On the one hand, its background seems in 
. many details that of the Judaic period of 

jT- . the Church and, on the other, very strong 

considerations point to a time consider- 
ably after Paul had done his work. In the present 
course of lessons the book is studied at this point 
as possibly a writing coming from the Judaic period 
of the early Church. If so, it is the earliest book 
of the New Testament, and is to be placed during the 
period when the Christians were scattered abroad 
and just before the beginning of the great mission- 
ary journeys that mark the transition to the Gentile 
period. 

If the book belongs to this age, the James referred 
to in the superscription is probably the brother of 
Jesus, who was recognized as a pillar of 
the church at Jerusalem. 
In literary character the Epistle of James has some 
of the flavor of the Old Testament prophets and 
wisdom writers, though it lacks in 
p, . . most passages the wealth of figura- 

tive language and illustrations that 
adorn their best pages. AVhere pictures and illustra- 
tions do occur they are usually less sketchy and vigor- 
ous. The fact that this book is sometimes styled a 
series of homilies indicates that it lacks unity of 
plan and purpose as one artistic whole. 



ADVANCED COURSE OF LESSONS I4I 

II. Analysis of Lesson 

1. An Ideal Life of Self-control and Active Service, Guided by 
Divine Wisdom. — 1. 

2. Faith not a Substitute for the Law of Active Love. — 2. 

3. False and True Wisdom. — 3: i — -4: 10. 

4. Patience in the Presence of Prosperous Evil, — 4: 11 — 5. 

III. Selected Home Readings 

An ideal life. (1.) 
Faith and works. (2: 14-26.) 
The unruly member. (3: 1-12.) 
What is your life? (4: 13 — 5: 6.) 

IV. Special Points to be Noted 

Practical scope of James; James' ideal man pictured in the 
opening section; the law that is enforced in this epistle; a re- 
jected substitute for fulfiling the royal law; wisdom manifested 
in words or deeds? folly of pride and injustice condemmed; right 
attitude enforced ; relation of Epistle of James to Old Testament 
prophets, to Christian teaching; historical location of the book; 
authorship; literary resemblances to prophets; lack of literary 
unity; chief requirements of James — self-control, especially in 
speech, just treatment of employes, avoiding jealousy and fac- 
tion, gentleness, peaceableness. mercy, active sympathy, purity 
from contamination of the world, patient waiting for the Lord, 
striving to convert the sinner from the error of his way. 

V. Points for Review in Class 

Subject of lesson; general character of the precepts of James; 
elements in James' ideal man; the requirement of the law of 
love; in what sense is law of love a law of liberty? what was sub- 
stituted for royal law? the best test of wisdom; a life of folly; 
right attitude in the face of this folly ; resemblances to teachings 
of prophets; the new Christian element in the book; the place 
of the book in history; the author of the book; literary charac- 
teristics; chief teachings. 



142 ADVANCED COURSE OF LESSONS 

VI. Topics for Discussion 

To be assigned to individuals for report or made the subject of in- 
formal discussion in class. 

1. Is James' doctrine of works opposed to Paul's doctrine of 
faith? 

2. James' conception of Christian liberty and Paul's compared. 

3. The various men in the New Testament by the name of 
James, and reasons why the brother of Jesus alone among these 
can with probability be counted the author of this epistle. 



ADVANCED COURSE OF LESSONS 1 43 

B. GENTILE PERIOD 

Lesson XXXII 

Paul's First and Second Missionary Journeys — 

Acts 13 — 18:22 

Reference Literature. — Bennett and Adeney, Biblical Introduction- 
Bacon, Dods Weiss, Salmon, Introductions to New Testament; Cam- 
bridge Bible, Acts; Ramsay, St. Paul the Traveller; McGiffert, Apos- 
tolic Age; Purves, Apostolic Age; Conybeare and Howson, Rush Rhees, 
Farrar, Lives of Paul; Encyclopaedia Britannica, Hastings' Bible Dic- 
tionary, Articles on Paul and Acts. 

I. The Biblical Material 

The section considered in Acts embraces the first 

missionary jotimey to Cyprus, Cilicia and Galatia, 

the apostolic council at Jerusalem and the 

^ second journey, which takes Paul through 

Asia Minor and Macedonia to Athens and Corinth 

and back by Ephesus and Caesarea, to Antioch. 

The beginning of Paul's missionary joinneys marks 
a most important transition in the spread of the early 

-- ^ Church, as traced by the book of Acts. 

Character 

From the primitive Judaic period, with- 
in which the Christian Church was limited by stand- 
ards that must virtually confine it as a sect of Juda- 
ism, we pass to the Gentile period, when the Church 
is transformed into a missionary body with a con- 
ception growing broad enough to meet the needs of 
mankind. Enfolded between the thrilling narratives 
of the journeys is the account of the apostolic coun- 
cil at Jerusalem, where the issue between the Judaic 
and the Gentile ideals for the Church is so clearly 
presented. The brief section forming to-day's les- 
son records one of the most significant periods of the 



144 ADVANCED COURSE OF LESSONS 

world's history. The primitive apostles now fade 

from the narrative of Acts. The interest of the 

book centers henceforth with the one man who is to 

carry Christianity through Asia Minor to Europe, 

from obscure provinces to the centers of culture, 

commerce and government. 

As narrative, this section contains an excellent 

example of the vivid, rapid style in Acts, which 

T .^ selects the salient incidents and pre- 

Literary , . , . ^ 

Characteristics ^^^^^ ^^^^ ^^^^ picturesque power, 
passing over with rapid stride the 
unimportant intermediate steps. The events at 
Antioch in Pisidia, at Iconium and Lystra, which 
contain the prophecy of Paul's experiences in other 
and larger communities, are painted clearly. Other 
scenes notable for their vivid presentation are the 
vision of the man of Macedonia, the conversion of 
the jailer at Philippi, the complaint before Gallio at 
Corinth, while the speech on the Areopagus is one 
of the most perfect specimens of rhetorical art em- 
bodied in ancient historical narrative. 

II. Analysis of Lesson 

Paul's First Missionary Journey. — Acts 13, 14. 

The Council at Jerusalem. — Acts 15. 

Paul's Second Missionary Journey. — Acts 16 — 18: 22. 

III. Selected Home Readings 

Barnabas and Paul sent forth. (Acts 13: 1-12.) 

Healing at Lystra. (Acts 14: 8-18.) 

The council at Jerusalem. (Acts 15: 1-29.) 

The gospel carried to Europe. (Acts 16: 6-15.) 

The Church founded at Thessalonica. (Acts 17: 1-9.) 

Paul's speech at Athens. (Acts 17: 22-34.) 



ADVANCED COURSE OF LESSONS 1 45 

IV. Special Points to be Noted 

The regions included in the first missionary journey; the com- 
panions of Paul (Barnabas and John Mark) ; the belief of the 
proconsul at Paphos; preaching in the synagogues at Salamis 
and Antioch ; hostility aroused ; turning to the Gentiles, but still 
appealing to the Jews in the synagogues at Iconium and else- 
where ; driven from city to city ; healing the lame man at Lystra ; 
the difficulty raised by Judaizers at Antioch; the mission of Paul 
and Barnabas to Jerusalem; the apostolic council and its de- 
cision; the separation of Paul and Barnabas; region visited by 
Barnabas and Mark; choice of Silas; revisiting churches; Tim- 
othy taken as a companion by Paul ; journey to western extrem- 
ity of Asia Minor; the call to Macedonia; the place of prayer 
at Philippi; baptism of Lydia; arrest at Philippi; conversion 
of the jailer; followers won at Thessalonica ; driven out from 
Thessalonica ; followers won at Beroea; Paul leaves Silas and 
Timothy and goes to Athens; preaches on Mars' Hill, goes to 
Corinth; rejoined by Silas and Timothy; rejected by Jews; at 
Corinth a year and six months ; accused before Gallio ; return by 
Ephesus and Caesarea to Antioch. 

V. Points for Review in Class 

Subject of period; subject of lesson; portion of Bible in- 
cluded; threefold division of the Biblical material; general 
route of the first missionary journey; Paul's companions on the 
first journey; favorable receptions and hostilities aroused; cir- 
cumstances which led Paul and Barnabas to visit Jerusalem; 
the question before the apostolic council; its decision; general 
route of Paul's second missionary journey; companions on sec- 
ond journey; length of stay at Corinth; great development in 
• the early Church marked by Paul's first missionary journeys; 
elements of fine narrative power in Acts; the skill of Paul's 
address at Athens. 

VI. Topics for Discussion 

To be assigned to individuals for report or made the subject of infor- 
inal discussion in class. 

I. Paul and modern missions. 



146 ADVANCED COURSE OF LESSONS 

2. The Jewish character of the early Church, and the changes 
that were necessary to make Christianity a world religion. 

3. Why do the primitive apostles disappear from the narrative 
of Acts at this point? 

4. The so-called " We-Sections " in Acts — What may prop- 
erly be inferred from them? 



ADVANCED COURSE OF LESSONS 1 47 

Lesson XXXIII 

The Epistles of the Second Journey — i and 2 
Thessalonians 

Reference Literature, — Bennett and Adeney, Biblical Introduction; 
Bacon, Dods, Weiss, Salmon. Introductions to New Testament; Stevens, 
Messages of Paul; McClymont, New Testament and its Writers; Burton, 
Records and Letters of Apostolic Age, Notes 5 and 6; Encyclopaedia 
Britannica; Hastings' Bible Dictionary. 

I. The Biblical Material 
While Paul was at Corinth on his second missionary 
journey, he wrote the first epistle to the church at 
^ . Thessalonica. Havin?- been himself 

prevented from revisiting Thessalonica, 
he had, in his eager longing "toward the Christians 
there, sent Timothy, who had just returned with an 
excellent report (3: 1-6). The second epistle seems 
to have been written soon after the first, probabh/ 
while Paul was still at Corinth. Silas and Timothy 
were with him at this time, also. The too immediate 
expectation of the second coming of Christ, which 
had caused the Thessalonians some anxious inquiry 
at the timiC of the first epistle, had resulted in some 
of the Christians ceasing their regular work. 

The epistles, written under these circumstances, 
are occupied largely with expressions of thanksgiving 
and confidence, because of the faith and 
^ loyalty of the Thessalonian Christians, and 

with the questions and evils that arose from the ex- 
pectation of Christ's speedy return. A few admo- 
nitions as to Christian living and reminders of the 
life that Paul had lived among them make up the 
remainder of their contents. 



148 ADVANCED COURSE OF LESSONS 

These epistles show little of the great doctrines 

characteristic of Paul's theology. They are rather 

personal letters that grew out of the 

er pastoral relation with a church that has 

not been torn by serious doctrinal discord or strife of 

any kind. 

As such, they reveal the man Paul in his relations 

. ,, as the loving leader of one of the most 

loyal churches that he founded. 

As a form of literature, these and other epistles of 

Paul are quite different from the Epistle of James, 

which has the appearance of a series 

^, . . ^. of discourses in the manner of the 
Characteristics ^, . ^ , . , 

Old iestament prophets or wisdom 

writers. In Thessalonians, in fact, we are intro- 
duced to a new form of literature that has been 
denominated the creation of the apostle Paul. His 
are real letters, full of the personality of the writer 
and dealing most intimately with the particular cir- 
cumstances of those addressed. At the same time 
they discuss matters of religion, both doctrinal and 
practical, and may become deep, connected treatises 
on its various aspects, yet without losing wholly 
their character as true letters. The epistles in the 
New Testament occupy a position somewhat analo- 
gous to the prophecies in the Old Testament; yet a 
greater contrast in literary quality could not be easily 
found than that between these two classes of writ- 
ings. The poetry of the prophets, with its beauti- 
ful pictures of nature and splendid imaginative de- 
scriptions appealing to the senses, is gone. The 
literary interest of these later writings lies largely in 



ADVANCED COURSE OF LESSONS 1 49 

their pictures of life in the various centers, in the 

revelation of the character of their writers and in 

the intense nervous energy of their arguments and 
appeals. 

II. Analysis of Lesson 

1. A Letter of Congratulation and Thanksgiving. — i Thess. 

2. A Letter of Pastoral Warning. — 2 Thess. 

(a) Against expecting immediate coming of Christ. (1, 2.) 
(b) Against idleness. (3.) 

Ill, Selected Home Readings 

The church in Thessalonica.- (i Thess. 1.) 

The apostle's ministry in Thessalonica. (i Thess. 2: 1-12.) 

The apostle's exhortation, (i Thess. 4: 1-12; 5: 12—22.) 

Patience in persecution. (2 Thess. 1: 1-12.) 

Be not weary in well doing. (2 Thess. 3; 6-15. ) 

IV. Special Points to be Noted 

1 Thessalonians — Written in the name of Paul, vSilas and 
Timothy; preeminent faithfulness of the church in Thessa- 
lonica; former worship of idols; Paul's preaching among them 
with no motive of personal glory; his self-support; persecution 
suffered by the Thessalonians; prevented from revisiting them, 
Paul has sent Timothy; Timothy has returned with favorable 
report; Paul's exhortation to moral purity, brotherly love and 
industry; at the second coming, those who have died shall not 
be inferior to those who are living; ignorance as to the time of 
the day of the Lord; necessity of readiness in faith, love and 
hope; practical exhortation at close. 

2 Thessalonians — In name of Paul, Silas and Timothy; the 
Thessalonians, enduring afflictions, misled by false teachers, ex- 
pect the immediate coming of the day of the Lord; necessity of 
suppressing all disorderly idleness in their fellowship. 



150 ADVANCED COURSE OF LESSONS 

V. Points for Review in Class 

Subject of lesson; portion of Bible included; subject of each 
epistle; place of writing; occasion of writing each; principal 
subjects dealt with in first epistle, in second; character of Paul 
as revealed in these epistles; difference between Paul's epistles 
and that of James; chief literary interest of epistles; doctrinal 
value. 

VI. Topics for Discussion 

To be assigned to individuals for report or made the subject of infor- 
mal discussion in class. 

1. Paul's teachings as to the second coming. 

2. Any facts known as to the subsequent history of the church 
in Thessalonica, 

3. The Pauline authorship of 2 Thessalonians. 



ADVANCED COURSE OF LESSONS I51 



Lesson XXXIV 

The Epistles of the Second Journey (continued) — 
Galatians 

Reference Literature . — Bennett and Adeney, Biblical Introduction; 
Bacon, Salmon, Weiss, Dods, Introductions to New Testament; Stevens, 
Messages of Paul; McClymont, New Testament and its Writings; Bur- 
ton, Records and Letters of the Apostolic Age, Note 7 ; Encyclopaedia 
Britannica; Hastings' Bible Dictionary. 

I. The Book of Galatians 
The exact place and time of Paul's writing the 
Epistle to the Galatians cannot be stated with pos- 
^ . itiveness, but the balance of- Drobability 

0CC3.S10I1 ^ 

favors the view that it was written during 
the latter part of the second missionary journey or, 
perhaps, during Paul's stay at Antioch before the 
opening of the third journey. It is possible, how- 
ever, that it may have been written during Paul's 
stay at Ephesus or Corinth on the third journey; 
this view was formerly quite generally accepted. 
In contrast to this uncertainty as to the place and 
time of writing, the conditions in the Galatian 
churches that called forth the epistle are perfectly 
clear. Judaizing Christians have been among Paul's 
converts in Galatia and have been persuading them 
that Gentile believers must submit themselves to 
Jewish rites, especially circumcision. The occa- 
sion constitutes a crisis in the history of the early 
Church the importance of which can hardly be over- 
estimated. Shall Christianity be limited to those 
who are ready to accept certain outward forms and 
symbols as vital elements in their religion or shall 



152 ADVANCED COURSE OF LESSONS 

it enter into the freedom to which Christ called? 
The question is essentially whether Christianity is 
to be a sect of Judaism or a universal religion. In 
a way, this question had been judicially settled in 
the council at Jerusalem (Acts 15), but now the issue 
is the practical one, Are the churches themselves 
capable of entering into the freedom of Christ? The 
decree will be of little moment if the people them- 
selves return to the weak and beggarly rudiments. 

In this crisis Paul's argument is clear and incisive 
as his appeal is impassioned. He at first expresses 
astonishment that his disciples should so 
soon turn aside from the gospel which he had 
preached. He maintains that his gospel is the 
only true gospel, coming not from man, but from 
divine authority. Though not taught his truth by 
men, he had received the sanction of the chief apos- 
tles in his ministry. He shows that hope of salva- 
tion through law and through Christ are two incom- 
patible things. Insistence upon the supremacy of 
ceremonial law is denial of the necessity of Christ's 
death. The validity of the faith principle is funda- 
mental in the Old Testament. It is the essence of 
the covenant with Abraham and cannot be annulled 
by the later law. The law is only the schoolmaster 
to lead men forward to something higher. In Christ 
the child and heir comes to his inheritance, and his 
spiritual freedom heightens morality. 

Galatians is probably the first of Paul's '' four 

great doctrinal epistles," the others being i and 2 

^, Corinthians and Romans. As was sug- 

gested in the lesson from Thessalonians, 



ADVANCED COURSE OF LESSONS 1 53 

the character of these epistles is very different from 
that of those addressed to the churches at Thessa- 
lonica, where no great divisive questions had arisen 
to threaten the very Hfe of the church. Galatians 
introduces us to the center and heart of Paul's the- 
ology. 

This epistle reveals aspects of Paul's character 
that would hardly have been inferred from the epis- 
tles to the Thessalonians. Here we have 
the intrepid leader who can command as 
well as influence through personal devotion. Con- 
scious of divine authority for the execution of a 
great work, he reproves, rebukes and meets hos- 
tile accusation with counter charge. Here is a 
significant battle in Paul's almost single-handed 
campaign for the liberty wherewith Christ hath set 
us free. The impetuous Peter had failed him in the 
practical test at Antioch. There was no man save 
Paul, ready and able to meet the crisis. Every 
resource of his trained logical powers, of his familiarity 
with the subtleties of Jewish Biblical interpretation, 
of his intense personal influence upon men, of his 
fearlessness and perfect trust in his divine commis- 
sion was brought into play in the writing of this 
marvelous little treatise. 

In spite of its intense emotion, the thought of the 

epistle is presented in an orderly argument, that 

may be analyzed into introduction, 

^, . .\. thesis, proof, practical inferences 

Characteristics ^ r . ^ 

and recapitulation. This logical order 

of argument, expressed often in terse sentences that 

snap like the crack of a whip, is perhaps the most 



154 ADVANCED COURSE OF LESSONS 

conspicuous literary quality of the Epistle to the 
Galatians; yet the appeal to the heart, to tender mem- 
ories, to shame and gratitude, that may be noted here 
and there is hardly less remarkable. Great truths 
of age-long and world-wide significance find ade- 
quate expression in this writing of Paul. 

II. Analysis of Lesson 

1. Salutation. — 1: 1-5. 

2. Thesis. — Paul's Anti-Legalistic Message is of Divine Au- 
thority. — 1: 6-12. 

3. Proof. — 1: 13. 

4. Practical Inferences. — 5 — 6: 10. 

5. Conclusion. — 6: 11-18. 

III. Selected Home Readings 

Independence of Paul's gospel. (1: 11-24. ) 
Approval of Paul's gospel at Jerusalem. (2: i-io.) 
Dead to the law. (2: 11-21.) 
The law subordinate to faith. (3.) 
The law of freedom. (5: 13 — 6: 5.) 
The law of reward. (5: 6-10.) 

IV. Special Points to be Noted 

Almost all of these points may be gathered from the Home Readings. 

Omission of usual thanksgiving in salutation; Paul's claim 
of special revelation; independence of his gospel as seen in his 
conversion and absence of instruction from apostles, in the ap- 
proval of his work by the apostles, in his vindication of Christian 
freedom at Antioch; the faith principle prior to and superior 
to the law; freedom not moral license; the works of the flesh; 
the works of the Spirit ; the certain harvest of flesh and Spirit. 

V. Points for Review in Class 

Subject of lesson; place and time of writing Galatians; occa- 
sion of writing; importance of occasion; general thought of the 



ADVANCED COURSE OF LESSONS 1 55 

book; names of the four great doctrinal epistles; difference 
between Galatians and Thessalonian epistles; character of Paul 
as revealed in Galatians; abilities of Paul seen here; striking 
literary merits. 

The omission at the opening of the Epistle to Galatians; Paul's 
high claim; grounds of Paul's claim of independence in his gos- 
pel message; relation of faith and legalism in Old Testament; 
Christian freedom and morality; the inevitable harvest. 

VI. Topics for Discussion 

To be assigned to individuals for report or made the subject of in- 
formal discussion in class. 

1. Meaning of faith in the Epistle to the Galatians. Is it 
simply intellectual belief in God or merely trust that he will care 
for the believer? 

2. Is faith used in the same sense in James and Galatians? 

3. The law of liberty as treated in James and in Galatians. 

4. Passages in Galatians in which the more tender side of 
Paul's character appears. 



156 ADVANCED COURSE OF LESSONS 



Lesson XXXV 

Paul's Third Missionary Journey — Acts 
18:23 — 21 :i6 

Reference Literature. — Bennett and Adeney, Biblical Introduction; 
Bacon, Salmon, Weiss, Dods, New Testament Introductions; Cam- 
bridge Bible, Acts; Ramsay, St. Paul the Traveller; Conybeare and 
Howson, Rush Rhees, Farrar, Lives of Paul; McGiffert, Apostolic Age; 
, Purves, Apostolic Age; Encyclopaedia Britannica; Hastings' Bible Dic- 
tionary, articles on Acts and Paul. 

I. The Biblical Material 

The account of Paul's third missionary journey 

includes his journey through Galatia, a two to three 

years' stay at Ephesus, his journey in 

Macedonia and three months in Greece, 

together with the return to Jerusalem, including brief 

stops at Troas, Miletus, Tyre and Ca^sarea. 

The title ' ' Missionary Journey ' ' does not describe 

very accurately the years recorded in this section 

^, , of Acts. Paul seems rather to have moved 

Cii3.r3.CLcr 

his basis for missionary operations from 

Antioch to Ephesus > As a travel narrative the 
account is fragmentary and records only scenes 
from this period of Paul's ministry. Toward the 
close of the section when Paul sails from Mace- 
donia for Troas the narrative suddenly changes again 
to the first person, and from this time forward gives 
a connected, vivid account of the journeying toward 
Jerusalem. 

The account of the ministry at Ephesus closes 
with the scene of the riot roused by Demetrius, which 



ADVANCED COURSE OF LESSONS 157 

is drawn with much, dramatic power. 

Characteristics ^^^ ^^^^^^^ ^^^^^ ^^ ^^^^^^^ ^^^^ ^'^ 
followers, the senseless mob crying 

out for about the space of two hours, " Great is 
Diana of the Ephesians," and not knowing w^here- 
fore they had come together, the calm, astute 
officer quieting them at length with words calcu- 
lated at once to soothe and to bring them to a re- 
alization of their folly, are all presented in a well- 
balanced scene. When the narrative changes to 
the first person (20: 5), we at once fmd the simple, 
vivid style characteristic of all the ' ' we sections ' ' 
of the book. The style is rapid, yet quite detailed, 
and at times expands to present pictures of human 
interest, such as the preaching in the upper room at 
Troas, the touching farewell at Miletus, the parting 
prayer on the beach at Tyre and the anticipations 
of danger at Cresarea, when Paul's friends' weeping 
seems like to break his heart. The tenderness and 
pathos of these scenes on Paul's last journey to Jeru- 
salem is constantly felt, but is presented with a fine 
simplicity and manly reserve. Even in Paul's own 
writings we are rarely brought nearer to him in his 
Christlike character than in this beautiful narrative 
of the journey from Macedonia to Jerusalem. 

II. Analysis of Lesson 

1. ^linistry in Asia Minor and Greece. — Acts 18:23 — 20:3. 

2. Journey to Jerusalem. — Acts 20: 4 — 21: 16. 

III. Selected Home Readings 

Paul and Apollos. (Acts 18: 24 — 19: 7.) 
Paul's purposes. (Acts 19: 21, 22.) 



158 ADVANCED COURSE OF LESSONS 

The riot at Ephesus. (Acts 19: 23-41.) 
The farewell at Miletus. (Acts 20: 17-38.) 
The warning at Caesarea. (Acts 21: 8-14.) 

IV. Special Points to be Noted 

The regions traversed on leaving Antioch for the last time; 
ministry of Apollos at Ephesus; stages in Paul's work at Ephe- 
sus, at first public preaching in synagogue for three months, 
then private instruction of disciples for two years ; plans of Paul 
for further missionary activity; close of ministry at Ephesus; 
revisiting of Macedonia; three months in Greece; reason for 
returning through Macedonia (20:3); Philippi to Troas; seven 
days at Troas and last meeting there with Paul ; stop at Miletus, 
farewell to disciples from Ephesus; a week with the disciples 
at Tyre ; warning of danger given to Paul ; farewell on the beach ; 
brief stop with the brethren at Ptolemais; stop with Philip at 
Caesarea; warning of Agabus; Paul's determination to go on to 
Jerusalem; arrival at Jerusalem. 

V. Points for Review in Class 

Subject of lesson; portion of Bible included; general route of 
Paul's travels on "third journey,"; inaccuracy of title "third 
missionary journey "; Paul's new center of activity; portion of 
the narrative that is in the first person; the most vivid scenes 
in Acts 18:23 — 21: 16; literary characteristics of the section 
written in the first person; Paul's route from Antioch to Ephe- 
sus; course of Paul's ministry at Ephesus; Paul's plans; length 
of stay at Ephesus; length of stay in Greece; the plot; farewell 
meetings. 

VI. Topics for Discussion 

To be assigned to individuals for report or made the subject of in- 
formal discussion in class. 

1. The character of Paul as seen in this portion of his history. 

2. The relations of Paul and Apollos. 

3. The worship of Diana at Ephesus. 

4. Practical lessons from the Demetrius episode. 



ADVANCED COURSE OF LESSONS. 1 59 

Lesson XXXVI 
The Epistles of the Thh'd Journey — i Corinthians 

Reference Literature. — Bennett and Adeney, Biblical Introduction; 
Bacon, Salmon, Weiss, Dods, New Testament Introductions; Burton, 
Records and Letters of the Apostolic Age, Note 8; Stevens, Messages 
of Paul; McClymont, New Testament and its Writers; Encyclopaedia 
Britannica; Hastings' Bible Dictionary. 

I. The Book of i Corinthians 

The place and time of writing the so-called First 

Epistle to the Corinthians seems much more certain 

^ . than of Galatians. Paul was at Ephe- 
Occasion . \ 

sus, where he remained for a period of 

something like three years, on his third missionary 
journey. Apparently this letter was written near 
the end of the stay at Ephesus, for he was expecting 
soon to leave. In 5:9 he refers to an earlier letter 
written to the Corinthians, so that this epistle is not 
actually the first that he had sent. It is clear from 
7: I that the Corinthian Christians had also written 
him; besides, a deputation had come to Paul (16: 
17). Possibly they brought the letter from the Cor- 
inthians. Information had come to Paul from others 
too, who had brought reports of contentions in the 
church at Corinth ( i : 11). The conditions preva- 
lent in the Corinthian church are very disturbing. 
There are strifes and party divisions, Christians are 
contending with each other in heathen law courts 
and are wronging and defrauding one another. The 
grossest social immorality is tolerated. At the 
Lord's Supper there is gluttony and drunkenness. 



l6o ADVANCED COURSE OF LESSONS 

In addition to this moral corruption, there is in the 
church skepticism as to the resurrection of the dead. 

The letter from Corinth seems to have contained 
questions about celibacy, eating meat offered to 
idols, the use of spiritual gifts and the collection for 
Jerusalem. Paul had previously sent Timothy to 
Corinth around through Macedonia, and now evi- 
dently expects his letter to go directly across from 
Ephesus and so to reach Corinth before Timothy's 
arrival. 

The scope of the letter is manifestly determined 
by the circumstances that called it forth. The first 
six chapters deal chiefly with the conten- 
tiousness and immorality of the Corin- 
thian church. These things are sternly rebuked. 
In the remainder of the epistle the questions laid 
before Paul concerning celibacy, things offered to 
idols, etc., are definitely answered, and the evils of 
disorder in the church meetings and disbelief in the 
resurrection are dealt with. 

This epistle is correctly classed with Galatians 
as one of Paul's great doctrinal epistles, treating as 
^, ^ it does the doctrine of the resurrection 

and such more or less doctrinal points 
as the unity of the church, celibacy and marriage, 
Christian liberty and tl e relative value of spiritual 
gifts. At the same time it is one of the most per- 
sonal and practical of Paul's letters to his churches, 
and as such deals with specific questions of morality 
and expediency and individual instances of danger- 
ous tendencies and sinful practices. 

Paul expresses more of grateful appreciation for 



ADVANCED COURSE OF LESSONS l6l 

the measure of Christian grace that has been 
exhibited among his disciples in this letter 
than in that which he addressed to the 
Galatian churches. Like the Master, it would seem, 
he had more hope for those who had yielded to 
the appetites, but were ready to receive instruc- 
tion, than for those who rested satisfied in outward 
formalism. Moral corruption miight be cut out with 
the surgeon's knife, and Paul did not hesitate to com- 
mand its fearless, almost pitiless use in the Corin- 
thian church: even a self-seeking, contentious spirit 
might be transformed by the spirit of love; but the 
attempt to make outward forms fundamental meant 
death to the church. The character of Paul as it 
appears in this epistle shines forth as Christlike. 
Fearless rebuke and superiority to the judgment of 
man are combined with humility and tender pity: 
" I write not these things to sham.e you, but to ad- 
monish you as my beloved children." 

The First Epistle to the Corinthians is especially 
noteworthy because of the rare beauty and value 
of some of its passages which spring 
p, t • t' ^^^ ^^ ^^^ dark conditions that led 
to the writing. It was the self- 
seeking contentions of the Corinthian Christians that 
gave us Paul's presentation of the Church as the 
body of Christ — many members with diverse func- 
tions, but one life and purpose — which he followed 
with the matchless hymn in praise of the greatest 
of all Christian graces. The abuse of the Lord's 
Supper called forth Paul's beautiful account of the 
institution of that memorial. It was the disbelief 



1 62 ADVANCED COURSE OF LESSONS 

of some that led him to make that superb statement 
of testimony, self-evidencing in its simplicity, of the 
resurrection of Jesus, our first and most unimpeach- 
able written record of this most significant of all 
recorded miracles. 

II. Analysis of Lesson 

1. Introduction. — 1: 1-9. 

2. Evils in the Corinthian Church. — 1: 10 — 6. 

3. RepHes to Questions, Interspersed with References to Other 
Evils in the Church. — 7-15. 

4. Practical Arrangements and Conclusion. — 16. 

III. Selected Home Readings 

Salutation and thanksgiving. (1: 1-9.) 

Factions in Corinthian church. (1: 10-17.) 

Christian liberty. (8.) 

Spiritual gifts. (12.) 

The more excellent way. (12:31 — 13.) 

The resurrection of Jesus. (15.) 

IV. Special Points to be Noted 

Words of appreciation (1:4-9; H's); the different party 
watchwords in Corinthian church; simplicity of Paul's teaching 
at Corinth; gross immorality tolerated in church; freedom not 
libertinism (6); consideration for the weak; the abiding gifts; 
testimony of Paul to the resurrection; the collection for Jeru- 
salem. 

V. Points for Review in Class ' 

Subject of lesson; place and time of writing i Corinthi- 
ans ; a former letter ; Paul's means of news from Corinth ; moral 
conditions of Corinthian church; questionings in the church; 
general scope of i Corinthians; in what sense a doctrinal 
epistle? purely doctrinal? character of Paul revealed in this 
letter; some of the most beautiful passages and the circum- 



ADVANCED COURSE OF LESSONS 1 63 

stances that called them forth ; outline of the epistle ; the various 
parties in the church; Christian liberty and morality; Christian 
liberty and the weak; the greatest spiritual gifts; Paul's esti- 
mate of the significance of the resurrection; Paul's care for the 
church at Jerusalem. 

VI. Topics for Discussion 

To be assigned to individuals for report or made the subject of in- 
formal discussion in class. 

1. The transformation that Christianity required in the life 
of a Corinthian. 

2. The differences and resemblances between Galatians and 
I Corinthians. 

3. What gives especial weight to Paul's testimony for the 
resurrection ? 

4. Paul's claim to have seen Jesus, and the relation of this to 
his entire Christian life. 



164 ADVANCED COURSE OF LESSONS 



Lesson XXXVII 

The Epistle of the Third Journey (continued) — 
2 Corinthians 

Reference Literature. — Bennett and Adeney, Biblical Introduction; 
Bacon, Salmon, Weiss, Dods, New Testament Introductions; Stevens, 
Messages of Paul; McClymont, New Testament and its Writings; Bur- 
ton, Records and Letters of the Apostolic Age, Note 10; Encyclo- 
paedia Britannica; Hastings' Bible Dictionary. 

I. The Book of 2 Corinthians 

Between the First and Second Epistles to the 
Corinthians Paul had left Ephesus, journeyed north- 
_ . ward and crossed over to Macedonia. 

v/CCd.S10Il 

Great anxiety for the Corinthian church 
has harassed his spirit, but now Titus has met him 
with news from Corinth that is in the main favor- 
ble. Some, however, are still hostile to Paul and 
ready to create division. 

The earlier part of the epistle is occupied with 
words of encouragement and instruction, the cen- 
tral portion urges a liberal collection for 
the Judasan churches and the concluding 
chapters contain a defence of Paul's apostolic au- 
thority against the attacks of his opponents. 

The personal and practical predominates in this 
epistle rather than the doctrinal, which was so prom- 
inent in the last two epistles studied. 
The chief doctrine included is that of 
the superiority of the covenant of the spirit to that 
of the old dispensation. In its latter chapters the 
epistle shows a great change in tone. The earlier 



ADVANCED COURSE OF LESSONS 1 65 

part is written largely in a gratulatory spirit, ex- 
pressing satisfaction that the instructions of the 
former letter have been carried out in the disciplin- 
ing of an unworthy member and even suggesting 
that clemency may now be shown; but in the last 
four chapters there is denunciation even more severe 
than in the previous letter. This may be due to 
the fact that there is still a factious minority in the 
church. It has been suggested, however, that we 
have in these last chapters really part of another 
epistle that had been sent by Paul to the Corinthians 
between our i Corinthians and the opening chapters 
of our 2 Corinthians. If this is the case, it would 
seem that the Corinthians had not at first yielded 
to Paul's injunctions and that he had been obliged 
to write even more severely, and that at last they 
had carried out his instructions. Certainly the great 
change in tone and lack of apparent connection be- 
tween the latter part of this letter and its earlier 
chapters are difficult to explain. 

As the Second Epistle to the Corinthians stands, 
it seems much less connected and orderly in its 

thought and expression than i 
Literary ^ . , . ^ , - 

Characteristics Cormthians or Galatians. Some 

passages are obscure and difficult 
of interpretation, and none attain to the beauty of 
the choicest parts of the First Epistle. Some pas- 
sages are, however, intensely vigorous and marked 
at times by satire and irony and in others beautiful 
thought is appropriately expressed, as in the passage 
that speaks of the new covenant of the spirit or the 
one beginning, " For we know that if the earthly 
house of our tabernacle be dissolved, we have a build- 



1 66 ADVANCED COURSE OF LESSONS 

ing from God, a house not made with hands, eternal, 
in the heavens." 

In this epistle Paul is seen as the true pastor of 
his flock, living in their life, afflicted for their 
sake, comforted for them. He has been 
distressed beyond measure, not know- 
ing the effect of his previous letter. He has just 
passed through peril of his life, but beyond all things 
without there is that which presseth upon him daily 
— anxiety for all the churches. If in this writing 
Paul seems less majestic than in the preceding, 
it shows us the man in his heart union with his 
disciples; it shows him in his moments of oppressive 
anxiety, in his bodily affliction enduring the thorn 
in the flesh, called weak in bodily presence and in 
speech of no account, yet conscious that he is in 
nothing behind the chief est apostles, pressed on 
every side, yet not straitened; perplexed, yet not in 
despair. We could not spare from the portrait of 
the Apostle Paul the elements contributed by this 
deeply personal letter. 

' II. Analysis of Lesson 

1. Encouragement and Instruction. — 1-7. 

2. The Collection for the Judaean churches. — 8, 9. 

3. Paul's Apostolic Authority. — 10-13. 

III. Selected Home Readings 

Thanksgiving and prayer. (1: 1-14.) 
Effect of previous letter. (2: 3 -11.) 
The new covenant of the spirit. (3: 6-18.) 
The house not made with hands. (5: i-io.) 



ADVANCED COURSE OF LESSONS 1 67 

The pastor and his people. (7: 2-16.) 
The apostle's authority, (llii-iy.) 

IV. Special Points to be Noted 

God's mercy in affliction; Paul's previous letter effective in 
securing penitence ; superiority of the covenant of the spirit to 
the Mosaic dispensation; courage through hope of the life with 
God; the good news of penitence brought by Titus; generous 
contributions from Macedonia for churches in Judaea; Paul's 
care to avoid charges of dishonesty, when collecting money has 
one appointed by the churches to accompany him; the apostle's 
claim of authority for his gospel message. 

V. Points for Review in Class 

Subject of lesson ; portion of Bible included ; historical situa- 
tion at time of writing 2 Corinthians; general outline of the 
epistle ; predominant character of this epistle ; doctrinal element ; 
change of tone in latter part of book; possible explanations of 
change in tone; literary structure compared with i Corinthi- 
ans and Galatians; elements of literary power; Paul's personal 
character as seen in this epistle. 

Effect of Paul's previous letter; Paul's estimate of old and 
new covenants; Paul's ground of courage; news brought by 
Titus; service rendered by churches in Macedonia ; Paul's ground 
for claiming authority in his teaching. 

VI. Topics for Discussion 

To be assigned to individuals for report or made the subject of in- 
formal dis^ssion in class, 

1. Paul's business method in dealing with church finances. 

2. The question of a combination of more than one letter in 
2 Corinthians. 

3. Known facts as to Titus — -life and character. 

4. Known facts as to the life and character of Timothy. 



1 68 ADVANCED COURSE OF LESSONS 



Lesson XXXVIII 

The Epistles of the Third Journey (continued) — 
Romans 

Reference Literature. — Bennett and Adeney, Biblical Introduction; 
Bacon, Salmon, Weiss, Dods, New Testament Introductions; Stevens, 
Messages of Paul; McClymont, New Testament and its Writers; Bur- 
ton Records and Letters of the Apostolic Age, Note ii; Encyclopaedia 
Britannica; Hastings' Bible Dictionary. 

I. The Book of Romans 

The Epistle to the Romans was evidently written 

from Greece and probably from Corinth, since Paul 

^ . was soon to start for Jerusalem, near 

Occ3.sioii 

the end of the third missionary journey 

(15: 25). Paul feels that he has accomplished his 
evangelistic mission to the westernmost bounds of 
Greece and that now he may soon carry out his cher- 
ished purpose of visiting Rome and then Spain. 
He must first, however, carry the donation of the 
churches to Jerusalem. He writes this letter to 
prepare the way for his coming and ministry in 
Rome. 

No great doctrinal dispute or other disrupting 
influence such as called forth Galatians and Corin- 
thians leads to the writing of this letter. 
It has, too, a less specifically epistolary 
character and is rather a calm and deliberate setting 
forth of the gospel which Paul preached. The first 
eleven chapters constitute the doctrinal portion and 
deal with the great questions of justification, sanc- 
tification and the relation of Israel to the divine plan 



ADVANCED COURSE OF' LESSONS 1 69 

of salvation. The remainder of the book is occu- 
pied chiefly with practical instruction in Christian 
morals. 

In Galatians we saw Paul's doctrine of salvation 
by faith struck out in the heat of conflict with the 
Judaizers who had been tampering with 
his churches in Asia. In Corinthians 
it is again necessary for him. to contend for his 
authority to teach his gospel of Gentile Christian- 
ity, free from the burden of Judaistic ceremonial. 
In Romans the apostle elaborates his doctrine of 
Christian freedom and sets it forth in the fullest and 
most orderly manner in advance of his coming to 
Rome. Romans is, therefore, the most careful and 
complete statement of Paul's interpretation of Chris- 
tianity in its relation to Judaism that we possess. 
In addition to this, it contains a partial statement 
of his noble principles of Christian living — com- 
plete devotion, love, humility, consideration for the 
weak. 

Romans, above all the other epistles, reveals the 

marvelous breadth of Paul's thought and ambition. 

. , It shows his conception of his ministry 

Author , . , , , -,. . r 

as nothing less than the evangelization or 

the Roman world in his own lifetime. It testifies 

also in its logical and philosophical character to 

the great depth and strength of his thought. With 

these evidences of Paul's supreme intellect and 

will prominent, the epistle does not lack signs of his 

deep heart-life, of his dwelling together with Christ 

and sharing the tender sympathy of the Master for 

the weak. 



170 ADVANCED COURSE OF LESSONS 

The most striking literary qualities of this Pauline 
masterpiece are the order, cogency and symmetry 

^ . of the whole. No adequate ap- 

Literary . . .. ^ 

Characteristics preciation of its superiority as a 
piece of literature can be gained 
without a thorough analysis of its argument, which 
the limits of the present course of study forbid. The 
forceful analogies and figures, however, by which 
deep spiritual truths are made tangible, need only 
to be recalled to mind to emphasize the literary 
power that even the details of this epistle show — 
dead to sin, but alive to God; servants of whomso- 
ever they obey, whether of sin unto death or of obedi- 
ence unto righteousness; wages of sin, gift of God; 
war of members, warring against law of spirit; free 
from law of sin and death ; spirit of adoption ; whole 
creation groaning and travailing; broken branches 
of Israel grafted in; the body presented a living 
sacrifice — these are some of the figures that have 
become warp and woof in all our religious thinking. 

II. Analysis of Lesson 

1. Doctrinal — 1-11. 

(a) Justification. (1-5.) 

(b) Sanctification. (6-8.) 

(c) Israel's mission. (9-11.) 

2. PracticaL — 12-16. 

(a) Christian virtues. (12-15.) 

(b) Appendix. (16.) 

III. Selected Home Readings 

Humanity's corruption. (1: 18-32.) 
Humanity's justification. (3: 21-31.) 



ADVANCED COURSE OF LESSONS 171 

Rejoicing in hope. (5: i— 11.) 

Servants of righteousness. (6: 15-23.) 

Free men. (8: i-ii.) 

A living sacrifice. (12.) 

Bearing infirmities of weak. (15: 1-13.) 

IV. Special Points to be Noted 

Some of the great thoughts of the epistle — humanity's cor- 
ruption to be overcome through the gospel of Christ ; Jewish law 
gave a knowledge of the sinfulness of sin which other nations 
lacked ; one God of Jew and Gentile alike ; true seed of Abraham 
those that share his nature ; a new humanity ; old life crucified 
and dead with Christ; a new life lived with him; servants of 
whomsoever we obey; free from law of sin and death through 
law of spirit of life in Christ: humility; love; consideration and 
help for weak. 

V. Points for Review in Class 

Subject of lesson; portion of Bible included; place of writing 
Romans; time of writing; Paul's plans; general thought of the 
Epistle to the Romans in relation to Galatians and Corinthians; 
Paul as seen in the Epistle to the Romans; most striking liter- 
ary qualities of Romans; some of the eftective figures used to 
illustrate spiritual truths. 

Some of the great thoughts of the epistle — as to condition 
of humanity without Christ; advantage of Jews over Gentiles; 
true seed of Abraham; true life; servitude and freedom; great 
Christian virtues. 

VI. Topics for Discussion 

To be assigned to individuals for report or made the subject of in- 
formal discussion in class. 

1. Romans compared with Galatians in its doctrine. 

2. Romans compared with i Corinthians in its doctrine. 

3. Did Paul indicate in Romans the full value of the Jewish 
revelation and religion? 



172 ADVANCED COURSE OF LESSONS 

Lesson XXXIX 

Review 

I. The Biblical Material 
The twelve lessons now completed include the nar- 
ratives of Christ's life and the history of the spread of 
the Christian Church from Jerusalem through- 
out Judaea, Samaria, Syria, Asia Minor and 
Greece. The portion of Acts studied includes thus: 
the Judaic period of the early Church and its Gentile 
period as far as through Paul's third missionary 
journey. The Epistle of James that may belong to 
the Judaic period and the six epistles of Paul that 
were written during the second and third journeys 
have occupied the remainder of the lessons. 

The books studied have exhibited considerable 
variety in contents. The three Synoptic Gospels 
furnish the general outline of Christ's 
ministry, with many details of his words 
and works. The Gospel of John deals largely with 
other incidents, and is a presentation of certain 
aspects of his ministry, with the purpose of showing 
him as the Messiah and winning men to his salvation. 
The book of Acts, written as a continuation of the 
Third Gospel, is the record of the spread of the Church 
after Christ's ascension. The other books reviewed 
are epistles, written either to individual churches or 
to a more general body of readers and containing, 
besides matters of a more or less personal character, 
discussions and exhortations upon Christian doc- 
trine and practice. 



ADVANCED COURSE OF LESSONS 1 73 

The first three Gospels show very close inter- 
relation, while John is quite separate from these. 
The close relation between Acts and 
^ , the Third Gospel has been indicated 

in the previous paragraph. The six 
epistles of Paul studied may with greater or less 
accuracy be fitted into the framework of history 
furnished by Acts. James, however, shows no clear 
historical connection by which it may be assigned 
with certainty to any particular period. 

The Gospels are somewhat difficult to describe 

under any of the distinct forms recognized in the 

usual classifications of literature. 

^, 7 . AVhile roughly grouped among the 

Characteristics , . . , f , ^ ^ ^, t^-. 1 1 

historical books of the Bible they 

partake, perhaps, more of the nature of biographies, 
and yet they are hardly to be regarded as complete 
biographical treatises. Possibly no name better de- 
scribes them than that applied in the second cen- 
tury —" Memoirs." The book of Acts shows much 
more of the characteristics of ordinary historical 
writings, and yet it is not exactly a history of the 
period included. It seems rather designed to illus- 
trate two or three aspects of the history of early 
Christianity, predominantly the spread of the Church 
from Jerusalem to Rome, with especial reference to 
the development and spread of the Pauline type of 
Christianity. The epistles which form so large a 
part of the New Testament furnish an unusual type 
in the development of the world's literature, partak- 
ing partly of the character of genuine letters and 
partly of the nature of treatises and sermons. 



174 ADVANCED COURSE OF LESSONS 

II. Analysis of Lesson 

I. Life of Christ — (Gospels). 

1. The Synoptic narrative. (Matthew, Mark, Luke.) 

2. The Johannine narrative. (John.) 
IL The Early Church. (Acts and Epistles.) 

A. Judaic Period. 

1. Inception and scattering of the Church. (Acts 1-12.) 

2. Epistle of the Judaic period. (James.) 

B. Gentile Period. 

1. Paul's first and second missionary journeys. (Acts 

13—18: 22.) 

2. Epistles of the second journey. (i and 2 Thessa- 

lonians, Galatians.) 

3. Paul's third missionary journey. (Acts 18: 23 — 

21: 16.) 

4. Epistles of the third journey. (i and 2 Corinthi- 

ans, Romans.) 

III. Points for Review in Class 

Parts of Bible included in lessons 2-12; portion of history 
included; the two principal periods of the history and the two 
divisions of the second period: the variety of contents in the 
books reviewed; relations of the four Gospels to one another; 
the fitting of the epistles into the history of Acts; the literary 
form of the Gospels, of Acts, of the Epistles. 

The twofold division of the Book of Acts (A 1-12, B 13-28); 
the place in the history at which each of the epistles studied was 
written. 

IV. Topics for Discussion 

To be assigned to individuals for report or made the subject of in- 
formal discussion in class. 

1. The light thrown upon the history of the early Church by 
Paul's epistles. 

2. The chief doctrines taught by Paul. 

3. The chief moral virtues emphasized by Paul. 

4. The doctrine of Paul and James compared. 

5. The relation of doctrinal and practical in Paul's epistles. 



ADVANCED COURSE OF LESSONS 1 75 



Lesson XL 

Paul in Jerusalem and Caesarea 
— Acts 21 : 17-26 

Reference Literature. — Bennett and Adeney, Biblical Introduction; 
Bacon, Dods, Weiss, Salmon, Introductions to New Testament ; Ram- 
say, St. Paul the Traveller; Cambridge Bible, Acts; McClymont, New 
Testament and its Writers; Hastings' Bible Dictionary, Encyclopaedia 
Britannica. 

1. The Biblical Material 

The section of Acts included in the present lesson 

opens with Paul's cordial reception by James and 

the elders of the church at Jerusalem, and 

includes his arrest, removal to Caesarea 

and two years' imprisonment there. It contains 

accounts of Paul's addresses before the people from 

the steps of the castle, before the Sanhedrin, Felix, 

Festus and Agrippa. 

On his return from the third missionary journey, 
Paul carried the contributions of the churches to 

Jerusalem, in spite of warnings of the 
Relation to , . . -, - .1 o^t, 

^ . , dangers he would meet there. ihe 

Remainder • ^ a 

r A ^ present section of Acts takes up the 

narrative at this point and shows 
the steps by which Paul succeeded in visiting Rome, 
though he went as a prisoner. 

One of the most notable features of this section of 
Acts is the number of Paul's addresses that it con- 
tains. The narratives of this part 

^, 7^. of the book are of the most vivid 

Characteristics , . . » 

character, presenting a series 01 

pictures that are full of life. The address from the 



176 ADVANCED COURSE OF LESSONS 

steps to the excited throng below, the tumultuous dis- 
pute in the council, the secret visit of Paul's nephew, 
the trial before Felix and the further hearings before 
Festus and Agrippa are all dramatically presented 
with a rapidity of movement and an uncertainty of 
issue that hold the attention tense. The different 
persons in the action are clearly distinguished. On 
the one side are the persistent, unrelenting Jews, who 
carry their struggle against the apostle from Jerusa- 
lem to Csesarea and continue it from the governor- 
ship of Felix to that of Festus. On the other side is 
the far-seeing Paul, determined to carry out his mis- 
sion as a free man, if possible, but preferring to go to 
Rome a prisoner rather than to risk a return to 
Jerusalem with the probability of meeting plots that 
will cost his life. While these protagonists contend 
for issues vital to the world, the strong hand of Roman 
government is over both, now protecting and now 
restraining the prisoner, directed in the main by 
broad principles of order and justice, yet bending to 
placate the Jews or in the hope of personal gain. 
These are the human forces engaged in the fateful 
struggle. Through these contending human agencies 
the divine will is fulfilled in a manner that no one 
of the participants in the contest would have 
chosen. 

II. Analysis of Lesson 

1. Paul in Jerusalem. — 21: 17 — 23: 30. 

2. Paul in Caesarea. — 23: 31 — 26. 

III. Selected Home Readings 

Paul's reception at Jerusalem. (21: 17 — 25.) 
Paul's address to the Jews. (21: 37 — 22: 22.) 



ADVANCED COURSE OF LESSONS 1 77 

Plot against Paul's life. (23: 12-20.) 
Hearings before Felix. (24.) 
Hearing before Festus. (25: 6-12.) 
Hearing before Agrippa. (26.) 

IV. Special Points to be Noted 

Attitude of Jerusalem church towards Paul; Paul charged with 
teaching against the law and bringing Greeks into the temple; 
rescued from the mob by the Romans; Paul's defence of his 
mission; his escape from scourging; in the Sanhedrin claims to 
be a Pharisee; Jews plot to murder; warning given by Paul's 
nephew; Paul sent 'to Caesarea; two years' imprisonment with 
hearings before Felix, Festus and Agrippa; charges of insurrec- 
tionary purposes, hostility to the temple and leadership of Naza- 
renes brought; Felix's hope for a bribe; desire to gain favor with 
Jews; Paul's escape from danger of being taken back to Jerusa- 
lem by appeal to Caesar. 

V. Points for Review in Class 

Subject of lesson; portion of Bible included; general outline 
of this section of Acts; Paul's addresses included; relation of this 
section of Acts to what precedes and follows; the series of pic- 
tures presented in the narrative; the contestants and the great 
issue; the outcome of the long struggle described in Acts 21- 
26, the attitude of the Jerusalem church towards Paul ; charges 
against Paul made by mob at Caesarea; events leading to im- 
prisonment at Jerusalem and Caesarea; Paul's various legal 
hearings ; motives of Felix ; means of avoiding return to Jerusa- 
lem and of getting to Rome. 

VI. Topics for Discussion 

To be assigned to individuals for report or made the subject of in- 
formal discussion in class. 

1. A comparison of the three accounts of Paul's conversion as 
given in Acts. 

2. The Roman power as a protection in Paul's missionary 
career. 



178 ADVANCED COURSE OF LESSONS 

3. The facts about the life and character of Felix, Festus, 
Agrippa. 

4. Paul's conduct before the Sanhedrin — is it consistent with 
his character as seen elsewhere? 



ADVANCED COURSE OF LESSONS 1 79 

Lesson XLI 
Journey to Rome — Acts 27, 28 

Reference Literature . — See Lesson I. 

I. The Biblical Material 

The last two chapters of Acts contain the account 

of Paul's journey to Rome and of his early preaching 

there and, at the close, a brief statement 

of his teaching and preaching there for 

two years. 

The contest between Paul and his accusers had 

resulted in his appeal to C^sar, and, by this means, 

he had accomplished his long cher- 

Rem *nd r ished purpose of reaching Rome. The 

of Acts record of his preaching there completes 

the achievement of that generation 
in fulfilling the divine commission to bear witness 
unto the uttermost part of the earth. The message 
has been carried from Jerusalem throughout Judaea, 
Samaria, Syria and Asia Minor to the great intellec- 
tual and commercial centers of Greece and now to the 
political capital of the civilized world. The book 
ends abruptly. It may be that the writer contem- 
plated a third work to complete the series, as seems 
to be implied in the preface of Acts. It may be that, 
for some unknown cause, this narrative ended more 
suddenly than the waiter intended. Eagerly would 
we welcome further details of Paul's later life and 
work. Gladly would we learn whether he carried 
out his purpose to reach Spain; and yet the story of 



l8o ADVANCED COURSE OF LESSONS 

Acts may be complete as the author intended it to be. 

The book records the fulfilment of the great commis- 

sipn given at the opening ; the gospel is carried to the 

radiating center of the world. 

The narrative in the first person is resumed with 

the beginning of the journey to Rome. The record 

of the voyage is one of the most 

_, ^ . :, perfect bits of travel narrative that 

Characteristics . ,. 

ancient literature has preserved. 

It is full of detail, yet most concise. At times there 
is a whole picture in a clause. We watch the ship 
laboring along under the lee of Crete, or as she is 
driven before the wind, in her greater extremity, 
with neither sun nor stars visible for many days. 
We see her barely held by four anchors let go from 
the stern, while all wish for the day, not knowing 
what shore is waiting to crush their vessel. With the 
coming of the light, anchors are cast off, and the ship 
is headed for a beach which the gray light reveals. 
In the desperate hours of peril Paul stands forth as 
the central figure on the ship, the one whose 
courage and wisdom and quick decision meet every 
emergency. At the beginning of the voyage he won 
the kind consideration and, in its perils, the complete 
confidence of the Roman ofiicer to whose charge he 
had been committed. New harbors and lands, winter 
storms and soft-blowing south winds lend their 
changing interest to the story. Soldiers, sailors, 
Christian brethren and throngs of listening Jews all 
take their place in the narrative, without once dis- 
tracting attention from the central figure, who, at 
last, brings the gospel message from distant Syria to 



ADVANCED COURSE OF LESSONS l8l 

Rome itself. Here, though a prisoner awaiting trial, 
Paul preaches the kingdom of God and. teaches the 
things concerning the Lord Jesus Christ with all 
boldness, none forbidding him. 

II. Analysis of Lesson 

The Journey to Rome. — 27-28: 15. 
At Rome. — 28: 16-31. 

III. Selected Home Readings 

Caesarea to Crete. (27: 1-8.) 

The tempestuous voyage. (27: 9-26.) 

The shipwreck. (27: 27-44.) 

Three months on the island of Melita. (28: i— 10.) 

Arrival at Rome. (28: 11- 16.) 

Preaching in Rome. (28: 17-31.) 

IV. Special Points to be Noted 

Paul's companions on leaving Caesarea; the stop at Sidon; 
changing ship at Mysia of Cilicia; the stop at Fair Havens; the 
storm; Paul's assurance of deliverance; the attempt of the sailors 
to escape ; centurion acts under Paul's direction ; Paul encour- 
aging all who are in the ship ; the prisoners spared ; the wreck and 
escape; kindness received by the shipwrecked company; the 
stay at Melita ; with the brethren at Puteoli ; the welcoming com- 
pany from Rome; Paul treated with consideration by Roman 
authorities; Paul's meeting with the chief of the Jews at Rome; 
preaching to the Jews; declaring that salvation is sent to the 
Gentiles; two years in own hired house, preaching and teaching. 

V. Points for Review in Class 

Subject of lesson; portion of Bible included; general contents 
of Acts 27, 28; Paul as presented in these chapters; changing 
background of the scenes described; subordinate figures in the 
story; Paul's companions; principal incidents of the voyage; 



1 82 ADVANCED COURSE OF LESSONS 

reception by Christian brethren and Jewish leaders in Rome; 
Paul's opportunity at Rome. 

VI. Topics for Discussion 

To be assigned to individuals for report or made the subject of in- 
formal discussion in class. 

1. The geography of the journey to Rome. 

2. Various explanations of abrupt termination of Acts. 

3. Purpose of the book of Acts considered as a whole. 

4. A general outline of Acts. 



ADVANCED COURSE OF LESSONS 1 83 



Lesson XLII 

Epistles of the Imprisonment — Philemon, 
Colossians 

Reference Literature. — Bennett and Adeney, Biblical Introduction; 
Bacon, Dods, Weiss, Salmon, Introductions to New Testament; Burton, 
Records and Letters of Apostolic Age, Note 12; Stevens, Messages of 
Paul; McClymont, New Testament and its Writers; Hastings' Bible 
Dictionary; Encyclopaedia Britannica. 

I. The Biblical Material 

After the letter to the Romans, written from 
Corinth during the third missionary journey, we have 
_ . no hne from Paul's pen for probablv three 

Occasion rryi ' ' 

or four years. The events studied in the 
last two lessons occupy the interval of time and fur- 
nish the historical background for the next group of 
letters, so far as the setting is furnished in the book 
of Acts. All the letters of the group now taken up 
bear clear marks of being written while Paul is a 
prisoner. It is possible that all of these, except 
Philippians, were written from Caesarea, but the 
Roman imprisonment is the much more probable 
occasion. The exact order of the four epistles of 
the imprisonment is uncertain. Philemon, Colos- 
sians and Ephesians seem to have been sent to Asia 
at the same time, but there is not perfect agreement 
as to whether Philippians is earlier or later than these. 
In the present lessons it is studied after the others. 
Philemon and Colossians bear internal testimony to 
the circumstances that called them forth. In Phile- 
mon, Paul speaks of him.self once and again as a 



184 ADVANCED COURSE OF LESSONS 

prisoner. Timothy, Mark, Aristarchus, • Luke and 
Epaphras are with him. He hopes soon to be freed 
and to come to Asia where Philemon Hves. The 
immediate occasion of the letter is the return of a 
runaway slave of Philemon, who has been converted 
by Paul and is now ready to go back to his master. 
This slave, Onesimus, is mentioned in Colossians as 
accompanying the bearer of the letter to Colossae. 
All the companions of Paul indicated in the letter 
to Philemon are named in Colossians, and the apostle 
speaks of himself as a prisoner in this letter also. 

The letter to Philemon is of a personal character, 
designed simply to commend Onesimus to his master's 
clemency. 

The dominant theme of Colossians is the relation 
of Christ to redemption. Paul sets forth the na- 
ture and rank of Christ as the one through 
whom all things were created, who is the 
Head of the Church, in whom all fulness dwells and 
through whom believers are presented holy before 
God. He dwells upon his hope that the Colossian 
Christians may be knit together in love, knowing the 
mystery of God, that is, Christ in whom are all 
treasures of wisdom and knowledge. Once, at least, 
in a warning against the bondage of external ordi- 
nances, the old note, so familiar in the earlier epistles, 
is struck again. The latter part of this epistle con- 
tains an exalted moral appeal based upon the lofty 
conception of unity with Christ that is presented in 
the earlier chapters. 

In Philemon we gain the most delightful view 
imaginable of Paul, the Christian gentleman, in his 



ADVANCED COURSE OF LESSONS 1 85 

personal relations with a friend. Dignity and 
courtesy are combined with a playful touch 
of humor, and, as we read, we feel ourselves ad- 
mitted to the intimate circle of one who drew 
into charming companionship the most loyal friends. 
In Colossians Paul writes to a church that he 
has not personally founded or even visited, but 
in which he manifests keen personal interest. In 
this writing we get a fuller view of Paul's apprehen- 
sion of the deep spiritual relations of Christ and his 
people than in any earlier New Testament writing. 
We are reminded, in fact, of the conceptions set forth 
years later in the Gospel of John. Much of that 
which is first clearly given in Colossians is suggested 
in Romans, but is overshadowed there by the doc- 
trines which had been brought to the front in 
Paul's contest with Judaistic Christianity. To the 
church at Colossse Paul gives the thoughts which 
have been maturing in his own mind and character, as 
the years of imprisonment, following after 3^ears of 
incessant activity, have furnished time for quiet 
meditation. 

Philemon, in spite of its brevity and personal 
character, has the regular epistolary form of salu- 
tation, thanksgiving and prayer, cen- 

CharLcSics ^^^^ ^^^^^ ^^^ ^^^^ greetings and 
blessing. In tactful presentation of 
request, in dignity and condescension, in unconscious 
expression of the character of the writer, it is a perfect 
letter. 

The literary form of Colossians is worthy of its 
exalted theme. In language that is at once simple 



1 86 ADVANCED COURSE OF LESSONS 

and beautiful, the deep and mystical side of the 
Christian life is presented. The writer appeals with 
great skill to the highest impulses of his readers and 
to their intellectual interests as well. 

IT. Analysis of Lesson 

1. Epistle to Philemon concerning Onesimus. 

2. Epistle to the Colossians. 

(a) Introduction. (l:i-8.) 

(b) Doctrinal — the true place of Christ. (1:9 — 2:23.) 

(c) Practical. (3—4:6.) 

(d) Personal messages and final salutation. (4: 7 — 18.) 

III. Selected Home Readings 

The epistle to Philemon. (Philemon.) 

All things summed up in Christ. (Colossians 1: 9-19.) 

The mystery of the gospel. (1: 24—29.) 

Ideal for the Colossians. (2: 1-7.) 

The seeking of heavenly things. (3: 1-17-) 

Domestic duties. (3: 18 — 4: i.) 

IV. Special Points to be Noted 

Dignity and condescension of Paul's request; play upon name 
Onesimus, which means useful or profitable ; hint at freeing of the 
slave. 

Good report of Colossians received through Epaphras, who has 
come to Rome; Christ the image of the invisible God, in whom 
all things were created. Head of the Church, the first-born from 
the dead, in whom dwells the fulness of the Godhead bodily, 
who has reconciled man through his death; dead through sins, 
buried with Christ in baptism, raised with him through faith, 
presented holy and without blemish before God. 

V. Points for Review in Class 

Subject of lesson; portions of Bible included; interval between 
epistles of missionary journeys and those of imprisonment; 



ADVANCED COURSE OF LESSONS 1 87 

epistles of this group from Cssarea or Rome? internal evidence 
that Paul is prisoner in Philemon and Colossians; particular 
occasion of letter to Philemon; close connection between circum- 
stances of Colossians and Philemon; difference between letter to 
Philemon and epistles already studied; great theme of Colos- 
sians; basis of moral appeal in this epistle; the man Paul as seen 
in Philemon; Paul's interest in the Colossian church; Paul's 
deep spiritual apprehension; literary merit of epistle to Philemon; 
beauty and skill of epistle to the Colossians* Paul's source of 
knowledge about Colossian church ; elements of Paul's conception 
of Christ in Colossians, of man's salvation. 

VI. Topics for Discussion 

To be assigned to individuals for report or made the subject of in- 
formal discussion in class. 

1. The reasons for assigning epistles of imprisonment to Roman 
rather than Caesarean captivity . 

2. A comparison of the teachings of John and of Colossians 
as to Christ. 

3. Known facts about Colossae and the church there. 



1 88 ADVANCED COURSE OF LESSONS 



Lesson XLIII. 

Epistles of the Imprisonment (continued) — 
Ephesians 

Reference Literature. — Bennett and Adeney, Biblical Introduction; 
Bacon, Dods, Weiss, Salmon, Introductions to New Testament ; Burton, 
Records and Letters of Apostolic Age, Note 12; Stevens, Messages of 
Paul; McClymont, New Testament and its Writers; Hastings' Bible 
Dictionary; Encyclopaedia Britannica. 

I. The Book of Ephesians 

The reference in Ephesians (6:21) to the sending 
of Tychicus connects this epistle immediately in 
. time with Philemon and Colossians (com- 
pare Col. 4: 7-9). The companions of Paul, 
however, who send greetings in these other epistles 
are here unmentioned, although both Timothy and 
Aristarchus had been at Ephesus (Acts 19: 22, 29) 
and must have had many friends there. Indeed, 
all definite allusions to local conditions in the church 
addressed are lacking in this epistle. Such facts 
as these, coupled with the omission of the words " at 
Ephesus " (1:1) from old manuscripts of the New 
Testament, particularly from the two oldest and best 
manuscripts, are sufficient to make it almost certain 
that this epistle was not originally designed for the 
church at Ephesus. The hypothesis, suggested 
long ago, that this was a circular letter designed 
for no one church exclusively is highly probable. 
The note of triumphant joy in the unity of the church 
that is sounded throughout accords well with this 
view. The letter was probably intended to circulate 



ADVANCED COURSE OF LESSONS 189 

among the churches of the district of which Ephesus 

was the capital. It is not at all impossible that this 

may be the letter which the Colossians were to receive 

from Laodicea (Col. 4: 16). 

This epistle is a general presentation of the same 

conceptions of Christ and salvation that were set 

^ forth in Colossians. Christ as the Redeemer 

Scope 

in whom all things in heaven and earth are 

summed up, exalted above all, the reconciliation of 
man in Christ, the mystery of the riches of the life 
in him, and the practical duties flowing from this 
conception of life constitute the substance of this 
treatise. 

In Ephesians we look into the crystal depths of 
Paul's own soul, for here, with fulness and freedom, 
he utters the deepest truths that long years 
of dwelling together with Christ have re- 
vealed to him. Paul, the young man, had sought 
peace of conscience in the rigid observance of the 
moral and ritual law of his people and in the 
effort to maintain the purity of that people by 
cutting out all who seemed opposed to its tradi- 
tions. In the midday of his intense missionary ac- 
tivity, he had fought moral corruption and a nar- 
row Judaistic Christianity ; he had won the battle 
in the churches for a broad Gentile hope. Now, in 
old age, and in the quiet of his prison life, he sets 
forth the complete conception of all that Christ has 
come to mean in his experience. In the eternal 
purpose which God had purposed in Christ Jesus, his 
restless intellect and acute conscience have found 
the meaning of human life and its peace. The wonder 



190 ADVANCED COURSE OF LESSONS 

of it all transcends his thought, yet the mystery is a 
mystery of divine riches open to humanity. 

As already indicated, Ephesians has less of the 
character of a letter and more that of a general treat- 
ise than any other of Paul's epis- 

^, X • ^- ties, except Romans. It lacks the 
Characteristics ' ^ 

terse vigor of the apostle s more con- 
troversial writing. Its doctrinal theme and practical 
applications are developed with leisurely fulness. 
Many of its passages, however, from the depth of their 
thought and feeling grow more and more beautiful 
as they sink into the heart and life of the reader. 

II. Analysis of Lesson 

1. vSalutation. — 1: i, 2. 

2. Thanksgiving Leading into a Discussion of the Nature of 
Christ and the Unity of the Church in Him.. — 1*. 3 — 3. 

3. Practical Exhortations. — 4 — 6: 20. 

4. Epistolary Conclusion. — 6: 21-24. 

III. Selected Home Readings 

God's purpose. (1:3-14.) 

The hope of his calling. (1: 15-23.) 

From death to life. (2: i-io.) 

No more strangers but fellow-citizens (2: 11-22.) 

The unsearchable riches. (3: 1-13.) 

Walking worthily. (4: 1-16.) 

IV. Special Points to re Noted 

Some of the leading thoughts of the epistle: The mystery of 
God's purpose to sum up all things in Christ; Christ above all 
in this world and that to come ; dead to trespasses and sin ; raised 
with Christ; riches of God's grace; the breaking down of the wall 
of separation so that Gentiles become fellow heirs; the mystery 



ADVANCED COURSE OF LESSONS I91 

of Christ not made known in other generations; Paul's especial 
grace — to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of 
Christ; the love of Christ which passeth knowledge; high privi- 
leges the ground of Paul's appeal to worthy life; unity of all in 
Christ; duties that are in accord with spirit of love, especially 
those to neighbor and in the domestic relations; wearing the 
whole armor of God. 

V. Points for Review in Class 

Subject of lesson; portion of Bible included; connection in 
time between Philemon, Colossians, Ephesians; apostle's circum- 
stances at time of writing; some reasons for believing that this 
was a circular letter; relation of thought in Colossians and 
Ephesians; revelation of Paul's life in this epistle; the satisfac- 
tion of Paul's intellectual needs, of his acute conscience; literary 
style of Ephesians; God's eternal purpose; Christ's place and 
work; relation of Gentiles through Christ; Paul's own mission; 
relation of privileges and duties ; the source of unity in the church 
the one great principle which will bring unity and harmony into 
human life; the heroic side of duty. 

VI. Topics for Discussion 

To be assigned to individuals for report or made the subject of in- 
formal discussion in class. 

1. The teachings as to Christ in Colossians and Ephesians com- 
pared with those in the earlier epistles. 

2. The teachings as to Christ compared with the Gospel of John. 

3. The influence of his imprisonment on Paul. 



ADVANCED COURSE OF LESSONS 



Lesson XLIV. 

Epistles of the Imprisonment (continued) -— 
Philippians 

Reference Literature. — Bennett and Adeney, Biblical Introduction; 
Bacon, Dods, Weiss, Salmon, Introductions to New Testament ; Burton, 
Records and Letters of Apostolic Age, Note 12; Stevens, Messages of 
Paul; McClymont, New Testament and its Writers; Hastings* Bible 
Dictionary; Encyclopaedia Britannica. 

I. The Book of Philippians 

In Paul's imprisonment the Christians at Philippi 
have sent by Epaphroditus a gift to relieve his neces- 
sities. Apparently, indeed, he had been in actual 

_ . want before their messen2:er arrived. The 

Occasion ... . 

Phiiippian church ever showed itself ready 

to minister to Paul's needs, and he felt a confidence 
in these disciples that made him ready to receive 
their gifts freely. Although Paul expresses the hope 
of visiting Philippi shortly, the undercurrent of his 
letter shows that he has grave doubts about the out- 
come of his trial. As soon as he learns how it is to 
go with him, he will send Timothy to them, and now 
he sends this letter back with Epaphroditus, who has 
been sick nigh unto death and has hazarded his life 
to relieve Paul's needs. 

The imprisonment of Paul has resulted in the ad- 
vancement of the gospel. Converts have been won 
in Caesar's household; his bonds in Christ are manifest 
throughout the whole prartorian guard. Confidence 
has come to the brethren to speak the word of God 
without fear. 



ADVANCED COURSE OF LESSONS 1 93 

Much of the epistle to the Philippians is occupied 
with personal matters — expressions of gratitude and 

- confidence, reports of his condition and that of 

Scope . 

the brethren in Rome and other messages de- 
signed to prepare them for his death, if that is to be 
the outcome of his trial. The more doctrinal portions 
of the letter consist of an exhortation to unity through 
imitating the humility of Christ and a warning against 
those who exalt the ritual law above faith in Christ. 
The practical portion of the letter deals with some 
slight differences among the Philippian Christians, 
and especially presents the ideal of conduct toward 
which they are to strive. 

The man who has proved himself strong in active 
leadership appears no less heroic when held a prisoner 
awaiting trial which may lead to death. He 
rejoices that his very imprisonment has given 
him means of teaching those who might not otherwise 
have received the message. His joy is that Christ 
is proclaimed, whether by his own life or death. 
Eagerly he looks forward to departing to be with 
Christ, yet lovingly he looks back to his converts 
who need him still and for whose sake he is ready to 
remain. Perhaps Paul is never more the triumphant 
hero than in this epistle. Rarely, if ever, too, do we see 
him the devoted pastor and friend more clearly than in 
this letter to his faithful, trusted disciples at Philippi. 

The personal nature of the letter to the Philip- 
pians gives it less of orderly structure than the more 
doctrinal epistles. Personal messages 

^, ^ .\, and items are minorled with the brief 
Characteristics r ^ • 

bits of exhortation and instruction 



194 ADVANCED COURSE OF LESSONS 

which the letter contains. The great Hterary charm of 
the whole is its simple personal flavor; this makes it 
one of Paul's most attractive letters. 

II. Analysis of Lesson 

1. Salutation. ^-1: i, 2. 

2. Expressions of Gratitude, Items of a Personal Nature, 
Warnings and Encouragements. — 1: 3 — 4: 19. 

3. Farewell. — 4: 20-23. 

III. Selected Home Readings 

Results of imprisonment. (1: 12-20.) 

Contemplation of death — to live, Christ, to die, gain. (l:2i- 

vSource of union in the Church. (2: 1-18.) 
Righteousness of the law. (3.) 
Christian ideals. (4: 4-7.) 
The Philippians' care for Paul. (4: 10-20.) 

IV. Special Points to be Noted 

Timothy associated with Paul in salutation; expression of 
thanks for constant generosity of the Philippians towards him; 
eagerness to have Christ preached in any way; emphasis on humil- 
ity as means of union in the Church; hope of sending Timothy 
soon; warning against laying stress on Jewish rites, making Christ 
all in all ; exhortation once and again to rejoice in the Lord ; lofty 
ideal of the honorable, just, pure and lovely to be kept before 
oneself. 

V. Points for Review in Class 

Subject of lesson; portion of Bible included; names of all the 
epistles in group of imprisonment; the service of the Philippian 
Christians; Paul's former relations with the Church at Philippi; 
Paul's expectations at this time; result of Roman imprisonment; 
personal character of epistle; two doctrinal elements of the epis- 
tle; heroic elements of Paul's character seen in the epistle; other 



ADVANCED COURSE OF LESSONS 1 95 

elements of his spirit revealed; literary form of the epistle; com- 
panion with Paul, Paul's one desire; the grace through which 
alone union is possible; chief doctrine of Paul's teaching; ideal 
for Philippian Christians. 

VI. Topics for Discussion 

To be assigned to individuals for report or made the subject of in- 
formal discussion in class. 

1. History of the church at Philippi. 

2. Great differences between the epistles of the missionary 
journeys and of the imprisonment. 

3. Resemblances between them. 

4. Paul's conception of the work of Christ and his significance 
in human historv. 



196 ADVANCED COURSE OF LESSONS 



Lesson XLV 

The Pastoral Epistles — i Timothy, Titus, 
2 Timothy 

Reference Literature. — Bennett and Adeney, Biblical Introduction; 
Bacon, Dods, Weiss, Salmon, Introductions to New Testament; McCly- 
mont. New Testament and its Writers; Burton, Records and Letters of 
Apostolic Age, Note 13; Stevens, Messages of Paul; Hastings' Bible 
Dictionary; Encyclopaedia Britannica. 

I. The Biblic ^l Material 

The history recorded in Acts furnishes no situation 

into which the present group of epistles can be fitted. 

^ . In I Timothy it appears that the writer 
Occasion . 

had gone to Macedonia, leaving Timothy 

at Ephesus (i: 3). This was not the case on any of 
Paul's visits to that region recorded in Acts or alluded 
to in his other epistles. It is indicated in the epistle 
to Titus that the writer has left Titus to organize the 
churches in Crete and is himself planning to pass the 
winter at Nicopolis, near Philippi. This situation 
likewise is foreign to the book of Acts. In 2 Timothy 
the writer is a prisoner in Rome and his trial there 
has already begun. He has been almost wholly 
deserted by his friends and expects soon to meet his 
death. This picture in itself is quite different from 
that given in the account of Paul's incarceration in 
Acts and implied in the epistles of the imprisonment. 
It might represent a later stage in the Roman cap- 
tivity with the account of which Acts closes, if it 
were not implied in 2 Timothy that Paul had recently 
been at Miletus and apparently also at Troas and 



ADVANCED COURSE OF LESSONS 1 97 

Corinth. Such facts as these make it necessary to 
assume that if Paul wrote these epistles as we have 
them, he must have been released after his Roman 
imprisonment and must have then visited Asia 
Minor, Crete and Greece and then been reimprisoned 
at Rome. 

The pastoral epistles concern chiefly the dangers 
that threaten the churches through vain 
^ disputes and the duties that devolve upon 
those who hold places of authority in them. 

These letters add little to our knowledge of the 
character of Paul gathered from the earlier epistles, 
. , though the farewell words in 2 Timothy, 
in which the apostle contemplates his past 
life and future hope, furnish a valuable complement 
to the words in Philippians written under similar 
circumstances. The im.possibility of fitting these 
epistles into the life of Paul recorded in Acts, and 
their differences in language, style and spirit from 
his earlier writings, have raised doubts as to their 
genuineness. The differences may, however, be 
accounted for in large measure b}^ the nature of the 
subjects treated and the time that has intervened 
since the earlier epistles were written. Occasion 
may be found for the writing, as already indicated, 
on the theory that the hope of release which Paul 
expressed in Philemon and Philippians was realized 
and that he made further journeys before his final 
imprisonment and execution. The pastoral epistles 
afford substantially all our knowledge of events in 
his life after the two years of imprisonment with 
which Acts closes. 



198 ADVANCED COURSE OF LESSONS 

The close-knit arguments characteristic of so 
much of Paul's writing are lacking in the pastoral 

epistles. The writer changes rapidly 
Literary ."^ , . , . ^ r^ j 

^, X • X- from subject to subject, even more 
Characteristics , ,, , . , , .\ , 

markedly than m the highly personal 

letter to the Philippians. So far as one can find par- 
allels in the literary characteristics of the earlier 
epistles, they are to be sought in the miscellaneous 
practical injunctions of those writings. 

II. Analysis of Lesson 

1. Charge to Timothy as Head of the Church at Ephesus. — 

— I Timothy. 

2. Charge to Titus as Head of the Churches in Crete. — Titus. 

3. Farewell Charge to Timothy. — 2 Timothy. 

III. Selected Home Readings 

Prayer for all. (i Timothy 2: 1-7.) 
Timothy's ministry, (i Timothy 4: 6-16.) 
Contentment, (i Timothy 6: i-io.) 
Duties of old and young. (Titus 2: i-io.) 
Energy and courage. (2 Timothy 1: 6-14.) 
Enduring hardship. (2 Timothy 2: 1-13.) 

IV. Special Points to be Noted 

Some leading thoughts of the pastoral epistles : The law service- 
able in restraining the sinful; God's will that all be saved; high 
character necessary for officers of church ; the duty of each accord- 
ing to his station; duty of contentment and danger of love of 
money; danger in foolish discussions; safety in knowledge of 
Scriptures; God's mercy in deHvering from evil life; necessity of 
courage. 

V. Points for Review in Class 

Subject of lesson; portions of Bible included; occasion of writing 
I Timothy, Titus, 2 Timothy; reasons why these epistles cannot 



ADVANCED COURSE OF LESSONS 1 99 

be fitted into the history of Acts: facts that must be assumed if 
Paul wrote the pastoral epistles as they stand; principal theme 
of these letters; explanation of differences between these and 
Paul's earlier epistles; knowledge of Paul's life after events 
recorded in Acts; literary characteristics of the pastoral epistles 
compared with Paul's other writings. 

Service of the law; God's will for humanity; duties of all in 
church ; source of danger to the churches ; source of wisdom ; way 
in which God's mercy appears. 

VI. Topics for Discussion 

To be assigned to individuals for report or made the subject of in- 
formal discussion in class. 

1. Facts known about Timothy; about Titus. 

2. Early traditions concerning Paul's last years and death. 
3 The Pauline authorship of the pastoral epistles. 



200 ADVANCED COURSE OF LESSONS 

C. CLOSING PERIOD 

Lesson XLVI 
The First Epistle of Peter 

Reference Literature. — Bennett and Adeney, Biblical Introduction; 
Bacon, Dods, Weiss, Salmon, Introductions to the New Testament ; Mc- 
Clymont, New Testament and its Writers; Burton, Records and Letters 
of Apostolic Age, Note 14; Stevens, Messages of Apostles; Hastings' 
Bible Dictionary; Encyclopaedia Britannica. 

I. The Book 

After the close of the book of Acts we have no 

clear outline of history and biography in which to 

^ . locate the later New Testament writings. 

Occasion . ^ 

The order of the books considered in the 

remaining lessons must therefore be recognized as 
only approximately correct. 

The first epistle of Peter is addressed to the elect 
in the various provinces of Asia Minor, apparently 
Gentile Christians. They are manifestly suffering 
severe persecution. It seems highly probable that 
the writing is to be dated not long after the death of 
Paul and that it was sent from Rome. Silvanus and 
Mark are with the writer. 

The epistle deals . chiefly with the birth of Chris- 
tians into a new hope thiough the resurrection of 

Christ and with the elements of character 
Scope 

appropriate for those who are adopted m 

Christ and have become the people of God. 

A good many years intervened between the last 

appearance of Peter in the Biblical history and 

. , the writing of his epistle. The impetuous 

disciple and early leader in the church at 



ADVANCED COURSE OF LESSONS 20I 

Jerusalem was greatly chastened by the experiences 
of the intervening years. He had himself passed 
through the furnace of affliction, and was now able, 
with great tenderness, to help those in fiery trial. He 
had learned to rejoice in being permitted to share 
the sufferings of his Master. He had never forgotten 
the agony of his time of denial, and now in old age 
he looked back to the resurrection morning as the 
hour when he was bom again out of despair into a 
new hope. We could ill afford to spare from our 
picture of the apostle Peter the view of his matured 
character given in this epistle. 

The outline of i Peter resembles closely the Pauline 
epistles, with some of which, indeed, the writer was 
evidently familiar. There are the 
CharacTeriltics opening salutation with thanksgiving 
and the closing blessing and messages 
of greeting, while the central portion is made up of 
a section dealing with points of Christian doctrine, 
followed by the practical exhortations and admoni- 
tions that flow from the doctrine. 

Besides the tone of tender sympathy for those in 
suffering, which gives this letter its richest charm, 
the language is constantly of the most picturesque 
character, which gives a highly poetic quality to the 
writing — Gird yourselves with humility; ye also, 
living stones, built up a spiritual house ; not using 
your freedom for a cloak of wickedness; the proof 
of your faith, being much more precious than gold 
that perisheth though it be proved by fire ; begat us 
again unto a living hope, unto an inheritance incor- 
ruptible and undefiled and that fadeth not away. 



ADVANCED COURSE OF LESSONS 



II. Analysis of Lesson 

1. Salutation. — 1: i, 2. 

2. The New Life in Christ, its Hopes and its Duties. — 1:3 — 

5:9. 

3. Blessing and Farewell. — 5: 10-14. 

III. Selected Home Readings 

The trial of faith. (1 : 3-9.) 

The holy life. (1: 13-25.) 

A spiritual house. (2: i-io.) 

Obedience and patience. (2: 13-25.) 

The same mind that was in Christ. (4: 1-6.) 

Christian love and suffering. (4: 7-19.) 

IV. Special Points to be Noted 

Some of the leading thoughts of Peter: Born again; trials as a 
proof of faith; the prophets eagerly sought to know of the salva- 
tion now come; holiness should characterize tV-ose to whom Christ 
has come; love one another; the church a building of living 
stones; Gentiles become the elect race; obedience to government 
and superiors; rejoicing in Christ's sufferings; duty of humility. 

V. Points for Review in Class 

Period begun; subject of lesson; uncertainty as to historical 
place of later New Testament writings; destination of i Peter; 
condition of those addressed; probable place of the epistle in the 
history; companions of Peter; general scope of contents; char- 
acter of the aged Peter; reflection of Peter's earlier experience in 
the writing; epistolary form; great charm of the letter; pictur- 
esque quality; the new birth; a service of trials; the time of priv- 
ilege; Christian ideals of personal life. 

VI. Topics for Discussion 

To be assigned to individuals for report or made the subject of in- 
formal discussion in class. 

I. Known facts about Silvanus and Mark. 



ADVANCED COURSE OF LESSONS 203 

2. The conception of the new birth in i Peter and John. 

3. The teachings of i Peter and of Paul's epistles as to 
Gentiles. 

4 Teachings of Christ, Peter and Paul as to obedience to con- 
stituted authorities. 



204 advanced course of lessons 

Lesson XLVII 
Jude and 2 Peter 

Reference Literature. — Bennett and Adeney, Biblical Introduction; 
Bacon, Dods, Weiss, Salmon, Introductions to New Testament; Mc- 
Clymont, New Testament and its Writers ; Burton, Records and Letters 
of Apostolic Age, Note 14; Stevens, Messages of Apostles; Hastings* 
Bible Dictionary; Encyclopaedia Britannica. 

I. The Biblical Material 

The brief epistle of Jude was written as a warning 
against evil tendencies that had appeared in the 
Occasion ^^^^^h. The exact nature of these is not 
fully manifest, but there are evidently 
those in the Church who deny the Christian faith as 
it had been delivered to the believers, and who are, 
it would seem, of sensual character, a divisive spirit 
and self-seekers. The readers had been instructed 
at an earlier time by the apostles, and it is probable 
that their home was in Palestine. As to the date of 
writing little can be said beyond the fact that the 
general impression given is that the direct apostolic 
teaching was imparted to these Christians at a much 
earlier date than that of the epistle. The writing is 
probably later than i Peter, but it may precede the 
fall of Jerusalem by a short time. 

The second epistle of Peter embodies a large part 
of Jude in its central chapter and seems pretty clearly 
to be of later date. Its address to '* them that have 
obtained a like precious faith with us " is hardly more 



ADVANCED COURSE OF LESSONS 2 05 

general than the character of the epistle as a whole. 
Definite allusions to the circumstances of the writer 
or of those addressed are lacking, except in the 
parts which are dependent upon Jude, and which 
may be regarded as indicating the existence of 
the same dangerous elements that called forth his 
letter. 

The general theme of Jude has been indicated as 

a warning against the evil tendencies that occasioned 

the writing. 2 Peter contains, in addition, the 

positive element of stimulating the readers to 

progress in the acquisition of Christian graces and 

true knowledge. 

The author of Jude claims to be a brother of James, 
probably that James who appears in Acts as the head 
A fh ch* ^^ ^^^ church at Jerusalem and is called 
the brother of Jesus. Jude, the apOvS- 
tle, was related to one James, but the writer of 
this epistle lays no claim to apostleship, and speaks 
of the direct apostolic teaching as though given by 
others rather than himself. 

From the early centuries of the Church onward 
grave doubts have been expressed as to the author- 
ship of 2 Peter. The difficulties in the way of accept- 
ing it as the writing of St. Peter must be admitted to 
be very great, and yet some scholars urge that cer- 
tain characteristics of the language resemble Peter's 
style and spirit, and emphasize the differences in cir- 
cumstances and theme as accounting for the differ- 
ences between this epistle and i Peter. Whoever 
may be the author of the epistle, the force of its 
appeal to progress in Christian virtue and knowledge 



2o6 ADVANCED COURSE OF LESSONS 

is comparable to the exhortations in other New Tes- 
tament writings. 

From the literary standpoint the most notable 
feature of Jude is its use of other literature. The 
Literary Pauline epistles seem clearly reflected 

Characteristics ^^^ ^^^ ^^ ^^^ extra-canonical Jewish 
writings, the Assumption of Moses 
and the book of Enoch, are definitely used. The 
style of 2 Peter, while not wholly lacking in pic- 
turesque qualities, is much less vital and forcible 
than I Peter. As has been indicated above, it 
shows literary dependence upon Jude in part. 

II. Analysis of Lesson 

1. Warning against False Members in Christian Church. — Jude. 

2. Warning against False Members and Exhortation to Growth 
in Christian Virtue and Knowledge. — 2 Peter. 

III. Selected Home Readings 

Dangerous members. (Jude 3-16.) 

Warned by the apostles. (Jnde 17-22, 2 Peter 3: 1-7.) 

Christian growth. (2 Peter 1: i-ii.) 

False teachers. (2 Peter 2.) 

Blameless in his sight. (2 Peter 3: 14-18.) 

IV. Points for Review in Class 

Subject of lesson; occasion of Jude; date of Jude; relation of 
2 Peter to Jude ; circumstances that called forth 2 Peter ; general 
theme of Jude; additional matter in 2 Peter; the identity of the 
man Jude; authorship of 2 Peter; most prominent literary fea- 
tures of Jude ; style of 2 Peter ; Christian virtues emphasized in 
2 Peter 1 and 3. 



ADVANCED COURSE OF LESSONS 207 

V. Topics for Discussion 

To be assigned to individuals for report or made the subject of in- 
formal discussion in class. 

1. The Assumption of Moses and book of Enoch used by Jude, 
character and contents. 

2. The Old Testament x\pocrypha. 

3. The chief arguments as to authorship of 2 Peter. 



2o8 advanced course of lessons 

Lesson XLVIII 
The Epistle to the Hebrews 

Reference Literature. — Bennett and Adeney, Biblical Introduction; 
Bacon, Dods, Weiss, Salmon, Introductions to New Testament; McCly- 
mont. New Testament and its Writers; Burton, Records and Letters of 
Apostolic Age, Note 14; Stevens, Messages of Apostles; Hastings' Bible 
Dictionary; Encyclopaedia Britannica. 

I. The Book of Hebrews 

References in this epistle clearly impl}^ that it was 
intended in the first instance for some particular 
Q . body of believers. The writer is hoping 
to visit them in company with Timothy; 
they have failed to reach his expectations in Chris- 
tian growth and must be reinstructed in the rudi- 
ments; yet they have ministered unto the saints, 
sympathized with those in prison, being themselves 
made a public spectacle, and joyfully enduring the 
loss of their possessions. Now, however, they seem 
to be in danger of falling away from their faith. 

There has been wide difference of opinion as to the 
location of the particular community that the writer 
had in mand. Some Palestinian place, Antioch, 
Alexandria, Ephesus and Rome have all found 
advocates. The Greek word translated '' being 
made a gazing-stock " {thcatrizomenoi) has seemed to 
somxC to favor strongly the view that those addressed 
had passed through the persecution of Nero at Rome. 
The epistle is commonly interpreted as implying 
that the Jewish sacrificial system is still in full exist- 
ence, and that thus the date of writing must be prior 



ADVANCED COURSE OF LESSONS 209 

to the destruction of Jenisalem, 70 a. d. As the book 
would seem to have been written after the Pauline 
epistles, and after the first generation of teachers was 
gone, its date could hardly have been much before 
70. It is an attractive theory that the book was 
intended as a preparation for the transition which 
must come to Jewish Christians with the fall of 
Jerusalem. It is possible, however, that the letter 
may have been written some little time after the 
fall of Jerusalem, when that event had ceased to be 
uppermost in men's minds. 

The epistle is an argument to prove the superiority 
of the new covenant to the old. Christ as the Son 
Scope ^^ ^ revelation of God, superior to that made 
by the prophets. He is above the angels, 
Moses and the Aaronic priesthood, and his sacrifice 
is higher than those made according to the old law, 
Christ thus fulfils the old and adds a higher and 
better way. In conclusion, the readers are urged 
to keep the new covenant and be faithful. 

The epistle to the Hebrews is anonymous, and no 

ancient and uniform tradition of the Church connects 

A ^t_ , . it with the name of any author. The 
Authorship _ ^. . . \ . • , ^ ^ 

Eastern Church associated it with Paul, 

although differences between its style and that of 

the Pauline epistles were early recognized. In the 

Western Church it was not accepted as a work of Paul 

earlier than the fifth century. It has been attributed 

to Luke, Clement of Rome, Apollo s and Barnabas, 

with greater or less probability. It may be said 

to-day that scholarship is practically unanimous in 

recognizing that it cannot be the work of Paul, and 



2IO ADVANCED COURSE OF LESSONS 

the American revisers have properly omitted his 
name from the title. 

As a piece of argumentative writing Hebrews 
stands without superior, if not without peer, in the 
J. New Testament. The author, it is 

Characteristics ^^*^^' turns aside from time to time 
to make practical application of 
some principle that he has reached in his argument, 
but he never loses the thread, and resumes it just 
where he left off. From the opening verses, in which 
the voice of God in his Son is contrasted with his 
voice in the prophets, to the closing exhortations to 
offer a sacrifice of praise continually, to do good and 
to communicate, because with such sacrifices God is 
well pleased, the relation between the old and the 
new covenants is set forth with a wealth of argument 
and illustration couched in the purest Greek that 
our New Testament contains. The rhetorical power 
of the epistle accords well with Luther's suggestion 
that it was the composition of the eloquent Apollos. 
It would not be easy to find many rhetorical periods 
worthy to be compared with the description of the 
ancient heroes of the faith by which this writer leads 
up to his exhortation, '' Therefore let us also, seeir^g 
we are compassed about with so great a cloud of 
witnesses, lay aside every weight, and the sin which 
doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience 
the race that is set before us.'' This unnamed author 
has been styled '' from a literary point of view, the 
most able writer in the New Testament." 



ADVANCED COURSE OF LESSONS 2 1 1 

II. Analysis of* Lesson 

1. Christ Supreme, Higher than Angels, above the Mosaic Dis- 
pensation. — 1-4. 

2. Christ the Great High Priest. — 5-7. 

3. Superiority of His Worship to the Temporary Mosaic Forms. 

— 8-10. 

4. The Nature of Faith and Encouragement to Perseverance. 

— 11, 12. 

5. Practical Exhortations, Personal Matters and Farewell. — • 
13. 

III. Selected Home Readings 

Christ the supreme revelation. (1.) 

The new covenant. (8.) 

Christ's sacrifice. (9: 11-28.) 

The heroes of faith. (11.) 

Exhortation to greater things. (12: 1-17.) 

Daily duties. (13: 1-9.) 

IV. Special Points to be Noted ' 

The voice of God in the prophets, in Christ; Christ perfect 
through sufferings; boldness of access to the throne of grace, 
through Christ ; pressing toward perfection or falling away to 
ruin; allegory of Melchizedek, a priest, though not of the line of 
Aaron; the new covenant promised in the Old Testament; Leviti- 
cal worship temporary; chastisement to be endured as from a 
father; Christ being changeless his followers should be established; 
Timothy recently set at liberty; salutation sent from those of 
Italy. 

V. Points for Review in Class 

Subject of lesson; a general letter to all Hebrews; present con- 
dition of those addressed; their past service; probable date of 
epistle; general aim; relation of new covenant to old; authorship 
of the epistle; Hebrews as a piece of argumentative writing; its 
language ; its rhetorical power ; brief outline of thought of Hebrews; 
God's earlier and later mode of speaking; means of Christ's be- 
coming perfect Saviour; Christ's giving of free access; two courses 



2 12 ADVANCED COURSE OF LESSONS 

possible for humanity; significance of Melchizedek to argument of 
Hebrews; relation of old and new; Christian reception of suffering; 
ground of Christian stability. 

VI. Topics for Discussion in Class 

To be assigned to individuals for report or made the subject of in- 
formal discussion in class. 

1. Theories and arguments as to date and authorship of He- 
brews. 

2. Theories and arguments as to destination. 

3. The complete analysis of the argument of Hebrews. 

4. Does the thought of Hebrews represent a way of looking at 
Christianity that is helpful to all ages, or a stage in the transition 
from Judaism to a universal religion? 

5. Danger of misunderstanding disconnected texts from a 
connected argument like Hebrews. 



advanced course of lessons 213 

Lesson XLIX 
The Johannine Writings — Revelation 

Reference Literature. — Bennett and Adeney, Biblical Introduction; 
Bacon, Dods, Weiss, Salmon, Introductions to New Testament; Mc- 
Clymont, New Testament and its Writers; Burton, Records and Letters 
of Apostolic Age, Note 14; Hastings' Bible Dictionary; Encyclopaedia 
Britannica. 

I. The Book of Revelation 
The book of Revelation is the only book of apoca- 
lyptic literature embodied in the New Testament. 
The great prototype of this literary form is 
arac er j^^^-^^y^ although marked apocalyptic ele- 
ments appear in earlier Old Testament writings , such 
as Ezekiel and Zechariah. Apocalypse succeeded the 
earlier prophecy of Israel when the nation lost its 
liberty and became successively subject to the great 
world powers. It arose especially in times of perse- 
cution, and had for its purpose the comfort of those in 
affliction b}^ the assurance of divine judgment upon 
their oppressors. Such predictions must, of necessity, 
be uttered in highly obscure and symbolic language. 
The book of Revelation seems clearly to have arisen 
under similar circumstances, when the church had 

^ . begun to know bitter persecution from the 
Occasion 

Roman government. In the book of Acts, 

Rome appears, on the whole, as a restrainer of 

persecution, but in the years following she became 

herself the persecutor. The exact date of Revelation 

is, however, highly uncertain. In parts it seems to 

antedate the destruction of Jerusalem. In 11 : i, 2, 

the implication is that the temple is still standing, 



2 14 ADVANCED COURSE OF LESSONS 

while the reference in 17: 10 to seven kings, of v^hom 
five are fallen, and one is and the other not yet come, 
suggests that it was written shortly after the death 
of Nero, the fifth emperor, reckoning from Augiistus 
as the first. These references would seem to place 
the writing between the death of Nero in 68 and the 
fall of Jerusalem in 70. On the other hand, very 
ancient tradition dates the book in the later years of 
Domitian's reign, which ended in the year 96, and 
some of its contents seem better to fit a date near the 
close of the century. Of late there has been a ten- 
dency to harmonize the contradictory evidence by the 
theory that the book received its final form at the 
later time, but embodied earlier elements. 

Revelation gives a special message to each of the 
seven churches located in western Asia Minor, a mes- 
^, sage of approval or rebuke, according to the 

character and conduct of those addressed. 
After these come the symbolical visions, which consti- 
tute the main body of the work and predict the over- 
throw of evil, especially as embodied in the Roman 
power. The vision of the New Jerusalem that fol- 
lows contemplates the destruction of Messiah's 
enemies and the establishment of his rule on earth. 

The language of Revelation is most ungrammatical 
Greek, with a strong Hebraic cast ; yet the work is one 
of intense poetic power, and seems to 
Literary show the most careful artistic struc- 

Characteristics ^^^^ throughout. There are in the 
visions which constitute the main body of the book 
three series of seven each — seven seals, seven trum- 
pets, seven bowls. It is often maintained that the 



ADVANCED COURSE OF LESSONS 215 

seventh of each series bears an especial relation to the 
series that follows. Thus the seventh seal contains 
the remainder of the book, and is developed in the 
seven trumpets, of which the seventh in turn includes 
that which follows and is unfolded in the seven bowls. 
If this analysis is correct, the literary structure is 
indeed carefully elaborated. In thought, figure and 
language the constant influence of Old Testament and 
other Jewish apocalypses may be noticed. Ezekiel, 
Zechariah and Daniel were evidently most familiar 
to the writer. The spirit, too, of the later Judaism 
pervades the book, notwithstanding its Christian 
elements. 

A greater contrast than that between the apoca- 
lypse and other Johannine writings can hardly be 

. ^, , . imagined. The difflcultv of believing 
Authorship , ^ , , ^ " . , , ^ 

that they can have been written by the 

same hand was recognized in the early centuries of 
the Church. If the earlier date of Revelation can be 
maintained, the difficulty is somewhat lessened by the 
long period of years that intervenes between the writ- 
ing of Revelation and the epistles and Gospel of 
John. The early testimony, however, for St. John as 
the author of Revelation, is very strong. 

II. Analysis of Lesson 

Introduction. — 1: 1-8. 

1. The Seven Letters. — 1: 9-8, 

2. The Seven Seals. — 4 — 8:1. 

3. The Seven Trumpets. — 8: 2-II 

4. Woman and Dragon, Beasts, Lamb and Redeemed. — 12 — 14. 

5. The Seven Bowls (Vials). — 15—18. 

6. Final Catastrophes. — 18, 19. 

7. The Heavenly Jerusalem. — 20 — 22. 



2l6 ADVANCED COURSE OF LESSONS 

in. Selected Home Readings 

To the church at Ephesus. (2: 1-7.) 

Worthy to open the seals. (5.) 

The seven trumpets after the opening of seventh seaL (8.) 

vSeven bowls (vials). (16.) 

The fall of the oppressing city. (18: 1-3, 21-29.) 

Rejoicing over the fall. (19: i-io.) 

IV. Points for Review in Class 

Subject of lesson; portion of Bible included; class of literature 
to which Revelation belongs; apocalypse in Old Testament; rise 
of apocalypse; purpose of apocalyptic writings; necessity of 
figurative language; relations of early church with Roman gov- 
ernment; two theories as to date of Revelation; the churches 
addressed; character of messages sent; general import of visions 
of the book ; the final vision ; language of the book ; poetic quality ; 
elaborate structure; literary influences manifested; differences in 
spirit and style between Revelation and other Johannine books; 
general outline of Revelation. 

V. Topics for Discussion 

To be assigned to individuals for report or made the subject of in- 
formal discussion in class. 

1. Passages in Revelation that show clear influence of Ezekiel, 
Zechariah, Daniel, Joel and other Old Testament writings. 

2. Apocalyptic literature. (See articles on, in Encyclopaedia 
Britannica, Hastings' Bible Dictionary, and discussion of Daniel 
and Revelation in Introductions.^ 

3. Evidence as to the authorship of Revelation. 

4. The conception of Christ's mission iu Revelation compared 
with that in the Gospel of John. 



advanced course of lessons 217 

Lesson L 
The Johannine Writings (continued) — i John 

Reference Literature. — Bennett and Adeney, Biblical Introduction ; 
Bacon, Dods, Weiss, Salmon, Introductions to New Testament; Mc- 
Clymont, New Testament and its Writers; Burton, Records and Letters 
of Apostolic Age, Note 15; Hastings' Bible Dictionary; Encyclopaedia 
Britannica. 

I. The Book 

There is little of personal allusion in i John, though 

there is enough to make it clear that one purpose of 

^ . its writing was to counteract false teach- 
Occasion . . 

ings that had arisen. There are allusions 

to those who deny that Jesus is the Christ or that 

Jesus the Christ has come in the flesh, and to those 

who claim to know him, but live evil lives. 

The epistle presents, in contrast to these tenden- 
cies, the assurance that Jesus is the Son of God and 
^ especially emphasizes fellowship with God 

and men through the great binding principle 
of love. It lays stress also upon righteous living as 
the test of having received God's light and upon 
Jesus as the Saviour from sin. 

That the fourth Gospel and this epistle are the 

work of the same writer cannot be questioned. The 

. ,, , . same phraseology, the same thought, 
Authorship , ^ . .-^ ., • , .1 

the same spirit are manifest m both. 

The tone is that of an elderly man writing to those 

whom he deeply loves. It is to be regarded as certain 

that the epistle was not written before the late years 

of the first century, though it is probably earlier than 

the Gospel of John. The author nowhere names him- 



2l8 ADVANCED COURSE OF LESSONS 

self either here or in the Gospel, but seems to claim 
personal acquaintance with Jesus in the flesh. 

The epistle is without salutation or formal farewell, 
and, were it not for occasional references that imply 
J.. some known and loved readers in 

Characteristics ^^^ writer's mind, it might properly 
be styled simply a series of medita- 
tions rather than an epistle. It is difficult to discover 
any logical order of thought running through the 
whole, so that an orderly analysis of its contents is 
hardly possible. It is, nevertheless, a writing of mar- 
velous beauty, at times exhibiting an almost lyric 
quality; for example, in the passage, "Behold what 
manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, 
that we should be called children of God," the pic- 
ture of God as light in which his children may walk 
without stumbling, and of man's hatred as enshroud- 
ing him in pathless darkness, is one of supreme poetic 
beauty." 

II. Analysis of Lesson 

A Message of Light, Love and Eternal Life. — i John, 

III. Selected Home Readings 

God is Hght. (1.) 

Hereby know we that we know him. (2: i-ii.) 

In Christ. (2: i8-2q.) 

Behold what manner of love. (3.) 

Knowing God. (4.) 

Victory over the world. (5: 1-17.) 

IV. Special Points to be Noted 

The antitheses suggested: Walking in light, walking in dark- 
ness; believers and the world; love and hate; children of God and 



ADVANCED COURSE OF LESSONS 219 

children of the devil; love of God and love of the world; confi- 
dence and fear; righteousness and unrighteousness. 

V. Points for Review in Class 

Subject of lesson, portion of Bible included; some false ideas 
that, in part, occasioned the writing of i John; thoughts of the 
epistle presented in opposition ; its leading ideas ; relation to Fourth 
Gospel ; age of the writer and his attitude towards his readers ; time 
of writing; anonymous character; personal claim of the writer; 
literary form of the writing ; elements of literary beauty ; the 
message of the book ; important contrasts suggested. 

VI. Topics for Discussion 

To be assigned to individuals for report or made the subject of in- 
formal discussion in class. 

1. A comparison of the thought of i John and the gospel of 
John. 

2. I John compared with the Pauline epistles in literary form 
and spirit. 

3. The spirit and thought of i John compared with Revelation. 

4. It has been suggested that Paul appeals more strongly to 
the young and John to the aged; if this is true, why is it? 



2 20 ADVANCED COURSE OF LESSONS 



Lesson LT 

The Johannine Writings (continued) — 2 and 3 
John 

Reference Literature. — Bennett and Adeney, Biblical Intnjdiiction; 
Bacon, Dods, Weiss, Salmon, Introductions to New Testament; McCly- 
mont, New Testament and its Writers; Burton, Records and Letters 
of Apostolic Age, Note 15; Hastings' Bible Dictionary; Encyclopaedia 
Britannica. 

I. The Biblical Material 

2 John was written to warn against false teaching 
such as that which called forth its predecessor. The 
^ . writer hopes soon to visit those to whom 
he is now writing, but the letter contains 
no clear indications as to who these are. The address 
to '' the elect lady " is probably to be understood as 
the figurative designation of some church. The 
salutation from " the children of thine elect sister " 
at the close favors this interpretation. The occasion 
of the third epistle is much more definite and specific 
than that of either of its predecessors. It is addressed 
to one Gaius, who has evidently showed hospitality 
to messengers previously sent by the writer. In the 
same church with Gaius there is a man, Diotrephes, 
who has refused to receive the messengers himself and 
has tried to prevent others from doing so. The present 
letter seems designed to commend to Gaius a new 
messenger, Demetrius. The writer is hoping soon to 
visit the church himself. It would seem that the 
churches to which these two epistles were addressed 
must both have been located at no great distance from 
Ephesus, where the writer is supposed to have lived. 



ADVANCED COURSE OF LESSONS 221 

The second epistle deals with some of the same 
subjects as the first. It, too, emphasizes Christian 
love and abiding in the teaching of Christ, 
and denounces those who teach that Jesus 
Christ has not come in the flesh. The third epistle 
concerns chiefly the exercise of hospitality to brethreir 
who are strangers and the hostility of Diotrephes to 
the writer. 

The writer of both these epistles calls himself 
simply '' the elder." Some have attributed them to 
another John than the apostle. " the 
■P presbyter John " ; but the title does 
not seem an inappropriate one for St. John to apply 
to himself. Peter st^des him.self a fellow-elder (i 
Peter 5:1). The internal evidence is of the strongest 
for regarding these epistles as written by the same hand 
as the first epistle and Gospel of John. The writer ap- 
pears in the third letter especially as one who exer- 
cises a m.easure of authority over the churches, 
although this authority is opposed by Diotrephes. 

Unlike i John both of these writings have the for- 
mal epistolary structure, with salutation, congratu- 

T .^ lation on personal faithfulness, cen- 

Literary ^ 

Characteristics ^^^^ ^^^^^ ^^^ ^^^^ greetmg. ^lany 
phrases, however, in the second epistle 
are closely like those in the first, and the third shows 
in form and phraseolog}^ clc^se connection with the 
second. The more personal character of the, third 
epistle gives us more of the human personality of 
the writer than the others present, although, of course, 
the depths of his spiritual nature are revealed most 
fully in the longer first epistle. 



ADVANCED COURSE OF LESSONS 



II. Analysis of Lesson 

1. Warnings against False Teachers. — 2 John. 

2. Christian Hospitality. — 3 John. 

III. Selected Home Readings 

" The essential commandment. (2 John i — 6.) 
False teachers. (2 John 7 — 13.) 
A faithful work. (3 John i — 8.) 
A factious member. (3 John 9 — 14.) 

IV. Special Points to be Noted 

2 John: Walking in the truth; the old commandment; the anti- 
christ; abiding in the teaching of Christ; rejecting those who 
come without this teaching. 3 John: Walking in the truth; re- 
ceiving the brethren; fellow- workers in the truth. 



V. Points for Review in Class 

Subject of lesson; portion of Bible included; occasion of 2 John; 
writer's expectation; the interpretation of "elect lady"; cir- 
cumstances that called forth 3 John ; principal contents of 2 John ; 
the Christian virtue commended in 3 John; title which writer of 
both epistles applies to himself; common authorship of Fourth 
Gospel and i, 2, 3 John; general form of 2 and 3 John; compari 
son of T, 2, 3 John in literary characteristics; the old command- 
ment; the anti-christ; hospitality. 

VI. Topics for Discussion 

To be assigned to individuals for report or made the subject of in- 
formal discussion in class. 

1. A detailed comparison of the thoughts and expressions of 
2 John with i John. 

2. A detailed comparison of 3 John with 2 John. 

3. The theory of two Johns at Ephesus, the apostle and the 
presbyter. 

4. The date of writing the epistles and GOvSpel of John. 



advanced course of lessons 223 

Lesson LII 
Review 

I. The Biblical Material 

The twelve lessons now completed include the 
closing section of Acts, the last seven of Paul's epistles, 
all of the other New Testament epistles (ex- 
cept James) and the apocalypse. The section 
in Acts records Paul's last visit to Jerusalem, 
his arrest there, his two years' imprisonment at 
Caesarea, his journey to Rome and two years of his 
imprisonment there. Four of Paul's epistles were 
written during his Roman imprisonment and the last 
three probably after the close of events recorded in 
Acts. For the closing period of the early Church, to 
which we ascribe Revelation and all of the non- 
Pauline epistles except James, there is no historical 
narrative in the Bible. The writings of this period 
are consequentl}^ assigned to their historical place 
and order with only approximate accuracy. In the 
case of most of these epistles not even their first 
destination can be ascertained with certainty. They 
include the two of Peter, one of Jude, one to the 
Hebrews and three of John. 

The four epistles of Paul's imprisonment are, in 

part, personal letters, but in part they present the 

results of the great apostle's most mature 

thinking as to Christ and the Church. The 

pastoral epistles are personal charges as to the 

right administration of the organized church. The 



2 24 ADVANCED COURSE OF LESSONS 

remaining epistles have, in the main, the character 
of epistolary treatises dealing with great theoretical 
and practical questions ; . such are' i Peter, Hebrews . 
and I John. The short epistles of Jude, 2 Peter and 
2 John deal chiefly with certain false teachings that 
have arisen, while 3 John is a personal letter. The 
book of Revelation is the one New Testament ex- 
ample of the apocalyptic form of literature that was 
common in the uncanonical writings of Jews and 
early Christians. 

From a literary point of view the closing section of 
Acts is, perhaps, the finest part of the book. The 

story of the voyage to Rome is an 
Literary , -" , -^ , , 

p, , ... almost perfect example 01 narrative 

style, and the long conflict between 
Paul and his Jewish persecutors is presented with 
great dramatic power. The last seven of his epistles 
present little for general literary comment that was 
not included in the flrst six, except the beautiful 
personal letter to Philemon, which shows so much of 
the charming personality of Paul in intimate com- 
panionship. The remaining epistles have much the 
same general literary form as the Pauline writings, 
which probably influenced them greatly. Some of 
them, however, notably the two greatest (Hebrews 
and I John), do not follow fully the Pauline epistolary 
form. The literary greatness of Revelation can be 
appreciated only by one who will read it as a con- 
nected whole. One who does this " will find this 
vision cycle one of the literary wonders of the world." 



ADVANCED COURSE OF LESSONS 225 

II. Analysis of Lesson 

B. Gentile Period of Early Church (Continued). 

(a) Paul in Jerusalem and Caesarea. — Acts 21: 17 — 26. 

(b) Journey to Rome. — Acts 27, 28. 

(c) Epistles of imprisonment. — Philemon. 

Colossians. 
Ephesians. 
Philippians. 

(d) Pastoral epistles. — i Timothy. 

Tittis. 

2 Timothy. 

C. Closing Period of Early Church. 

(a) First epistle of Peter. 
(k) Jude and 2 Peter. 

(c) Epistle to the Hebrews. 

(d) The Johannine writings. — Revelation. 

1 John. 

2 John. 

3 John. 

III. Special Points to be Noted 

Portions of Bible included in lessons 1-12; portion of history 
included in last section of Acts; the second and third periods of 
the early Church ; the place of writing the epistles of the impris- 
onment; the place of the pastoral epistles in Paul's history; 
uncertainty as to historical place of reniaining epistles of New 
Testament; general character of epistles of imprisonment; the 
general theme of the pastoral epistles; the general nature of i 
Peter, Hebrews and i John, of Jude, 2 Peter and 2 John, of 3 John ; 
the type of literature represented by Revelation; literary merit 
of last section in Acts; especial interest of epistle to Philemon; 
influence of Pauline epistolary form.; literary form of Hebrews 
and I John; literary greatness of Revelation. 

IV. Topics for Discussion 

To be assigned to individuals for report or made the subject of in- 
formal discussion in class. 

I. A classification according to literary form of all New Testa- 
ment books. 



226 ADVANCED .COURSE OF LESSONS 

2. A classification according to authorship of all New Testa- 
ment books. 

3. A general comparison of the Pauline and Johannine writings. 

4. A general comparison of the Pauline and Petrine writings. 

5. The probable dates of the four Gospels in relation to the 
epistles. (See works on introduction.) 

6. The earliest non-canonical Christian writings. 



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